The players, all members of the USA women’s national soccer team, are co-captains Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn, forward Alex Morgan, midfielder Megan Rapinoe and goalkeeper Hope Solo.
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Even if U.S. Soccer chose to pay players based on the amount of revenue generated, the women would win.
Morgan said she filed the complaint because she wanted to pave the way for a more equitable future.
The players on the team are focused on a new mission: being paid less than members of the men’s team.
The secretary of the Orange County Women’s Soccer League thinks it’s about time women fight for equal pay for equal and sometimes better play.
The battle over equal pay in sports has been waged for years and the debate looks set to continue. We’re pushing for that.
“I think the timing is right, ” Lloyd said on Today. “And to be treated with respect”.
U.S. Soccer issued a statement maintaining that its “efforts to be advocates for women’s soccer are unwavering”.
By filing this complaint with the EEOC, the players’ hope to finally bring U.S. Soccer around to the idea that women should be paid the same as men.
The latest labor dispute between the World Cup-winning U.S. women’s national soccer team and the United States Soccer Federation has illuminated an issue for workers throughout the country: the gender pay gap.
The US women’s national soccer team.
ESPN analyst Julie Foudy – who played for two World Cup winning teams – said the women have long felt undervalued. “What I would say is if they feel they are unjustly underpaid then without question, absolutely they should be unified and they should fight for their rights”, he told CNN Thursday.
This morning, U.S. Soccer released a statement saying, in part, “While we have not seen this complaint and can’t comment on the specifics of it, we are disappointed about this action”. “Now it’s our job to keep fighting”, said Lloyd.
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The US women’s team is highly placed in the FIFA Coca Cola ranking than their male counterparts and are indeed one of the best, if not the best team, in the world. Players on the WNT earn $1,350 for each friendly match they win, while players on the men’s team earn $5,000 per friendly match regardless of the outcome. Our fans really do appreciate us every day for that. A group of players led by Abby Wambach filed a complaint in Canada about the artificial turf playing surface, noting the men’s World Cup is played on natural grass. By comparison, the USA men’s team has never won a World Cup. But in the end, it’s all about fair play… or is it? That’s how much more revenue the women’s team is projected to pull in compared to their male counterparts, despite being paid four times less.
