LOS ANGELES – As millions of Americans protested across the country Saturday, fans of Angel City FC chose to make their statement without uttering a word.
With “No Kings” protests wrapping up around the country, fans piled into downtown Los Angeles’ BMO stadium for Saturday’s Angel City FC game against the North Carolina Courage. A 2-1 loss soured the feeling inside the stadium, but did not erase the message sent by the fan’s silence.
Six days before Angel City faced off against North Carolina, supporters of Los Angeles FC, the men’s team that plays at BMO stadium, stayed silent for the majority of its match against Kansas City. Angel City supporters delivered the same message with the same vehicle: silence.
As fans entered the stadium, they were handed T-shirts that read “Immigrant City Football Club” on the front and “LA is for Everyone” on the back. The shirts were already laid out on the seats in the supporters section.
Nice touch for your fans, supporters, and City @weareangelcity #AngelCityFC | #NWSL | #WOSO | #LA | #ImmigrantRights pic.twitter.com/00JayUatns
— Mosaic 1781 (@Mosaic1781) June 15, 2025
Saturday served two purposes for the Angel City supporters. While protests against ongoing ICE raids across the country continued, Angel City hosted its annual Juneteenth celebration.
For Angel City midfielder Madison Hammond, the celebration goes beyond the field.
“Seeing everybody out today, preaching whatever they want to preach is just kind of knowing what the community that’s just outside the doors is,” said Hammond, the all-time appearance leader for Angel City. “It’s so much joy in different ways. And so that’s definitely what this day always commemorates.”
An energetic first half saw both teams find the back of the net, leading to a 1-1 score at halftime. A goal in the 95th minute by North Carolina would send home Angel City fans upset about the result, but not quiet about off-the-field issues.
Before players even stepped on the pitch for warmups, signs against ICE in the supporters section were already displayed.
“No human is illegal,” “Immigrant City FC,” “Built to last, here to stay,” and “None are free until all are free” were displayed in the supporters section.
As the match started, the usual music from the fans was missing. The rest of BMO Stadium attempted to make up for the missing sound from the silent fans in the north end of the stadium at times, but volume stayed low for a majority of the match.
While the silence from the fans was powerful, the eventual chants held even more weight.
In the 40th minute, chants against ICE picked up and followed into halftime.
Fans stayed silent again, until the 80th minute, where chants of “Abolish ICE” and “ICE out of LA” resumed. Once stoppage time arrived, soccer-related chants returned for the first time in a week, but the message had been sent.
After conceding a late goal that confirmed a loss, Angel City defender and captain Sarah Gorden was conflicted by Saturday’s proceedings.
“We all feel so proud to represent LA and we’re so grateful for every single supporter that comes out here and supports us and cheers us on and makes the games,” said Gorden, who brought her 11 year-old son, Caiden, to the postgame press conference. “I think it just makes it even more tough because we really wanted to put on a good performance for everything that everyone is going through right now.”
Coach Alex Strauss hopes that the loss can help strengthen the team’s mindset. Angel City has a 4-3-5 record and faces Kansas City on Friday.
“It’s the worst feeling in the world to lose football matches,” said Strauss, who is still looking for his first win in Los Angeles after two games. “It hurts deep when we lose it like we did today. And that pain is a part of it. If you are going to win this type of football match, you need to feel the pain and you need to learn the pain.”
The strong community in downtown Los Angeles is loud and proud not just for one another, but the athletes who represent them on the field. When Gorden fell down in the 23rd minute after a rough collision, fans chanted her name.
When she was able to get back up and return to the game, BMO Stadium, despite the lack of noise from the supporters section, cheered loudly for its captain.
“We are all very proud to represent LA,” Gordon said. “We made a point to wear our shirts for the walkout and we really wanted to stand with the community. And of course, everyone is affected emotionally.”
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