Five female players from the World Cup-winning U.S. national team have accused the U.S. Soccer Federation of wage discrimination in an action filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.<\/p>\n
Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo maintain in the EEOC filing they were paid nearly four times less than their male counterparts on the U.S. men\u2019s national team. The filing was announced Thursday in a statement from the law firm representing the players.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe numbers speak for themselves,\u201d Solo said in a statement. \u201cWe are the best in the world, have three World Cup Championships, four Olympic Championships, and the USMNT get paid more just to show up than we get paid to win major championships.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union representing the players is currently involved in a legal dispute with U.S. Soccer over the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. The federation filed a lawsuit this year seeking to clarify that its contract with the U.S. Women\u2019s National Soccer Team Players Association runs through the Rio Olympics until Dec. 31. The union maintains the memorandum of understanding agreed to in March 2013 can be terminated at any time.<\/p>\n
Attorney Jeffrey Kessler, one of the attorneys representing the players, claimed that the tenor of the negotiations over the CBA created the need for the women to act in hopes of ending what they say is the \u201cdiscriminatory and unfair treatment\u201d they have endured for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is that this team is more valuable to the USSF than the men\u2019s team has been. That\u2019s what the facts show,\u201d Kessler said on a conference call with reporters. \u201cAnd they would be justified in asking for more than the men are receiving. But the first step that they are seeking is equal treatment. That should be an easy step for the USSF to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Soccer issued a statement saying it had not seen this complaint and couldn\u2019t comment on specifics, but added it is \u201cdisappointed\u201d with the action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been a world leader in women\u2019s soccer and are proud of the commitment we have made to building the women\u2019s game in the United States over the past 30 years,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
The top players on the women\u2019s team are paid about $72,000 a year by U.S. Soccer, along with bonuses, to play in a minimum of 20 exhibitions per year \u2014 a salary far less than the men, the complaint says. And unlike the men, they are awarded bonuses only if they win those matches, the complaint says.<\/p>\n
Citing another example of the disparity, the complaint says that the women are paid $30,000 each for making the World Cup team, while the men are paid $68,750.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no legitimate non-discriminatory reasons for this gross disparity of wages, nor can it be explained away by any bona fide seniority, merit or incentive system or any other factor other that sex,\u201d said the complaint, signed by four of the players on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The EEOC investigates claims of discrimination on merit. There is no timetable for resolution of the matter.<\/p>\n
Many players on the national team have become increasingly vocal about gender equity in the sport, something that came to light in advance of last year\u2019s World Cup in Canada. A group of players led by Abby Wambach filed a complaint in Canada about the artificial turf playing surface, noting the men\u2019s World Cup is played on natural grass.<\/p>\n
After the women won the World Cup with a 5-2 victory over Japan in the final, the turf issue arose again during a victory tour when a game in Hawaii was canceled because the artificial turf was deemed unsafe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a fight that we are going to have to continue to fight from here on forward,\u201d Solo said. \u201cI don\u2019t see it getting any easier, but it is something we are committed to. And it\u2019s not just in the sports world, it\u2019s everywhere you look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan said it wasn\u2019t only one factor that brought the players to file the complaint.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the right step for us in moving forward with this team,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The team, which has qualified for this summer\u2019s Olympics in Brazil, is currently in Florida training for a pair of exhibition games against Colombia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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