Spark the Portland Fire: An activist league tips off in a city known for protest

Oregon’s new WNBA team, the Portland Fire, will play its first game at the Moda Center on Sunday. It’s a preseason game, meaning it doesn’t count towards the team’s official record, but it will be the first opportunity for fans to see them play in Portland.

Oregon loves basketball and women’s sports, and the state has another connection to its new team: Both the WNBA and Oregon have a history of activism.

Women athletes had to challenge established rules and norms decades ago for opportunities to play. In 1972, a landmark piece of legislation in the U.S. called Title IX barred sex-based discrimination in education, paving the way for more women’s sports teams at the high school and college levels.

But the passage of Title IX didn’t magically mean money and resources flowed to women’s sports.




https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/02/spark-the-portland-fire-an-activist-league-tips-off-in-a-city-known-for-protest/