USWNT MF Megan Rapinoe and F Alex Morgan appeared on NBC's "Today" to discuss the lawsuit players filed against the U.S. Soccer Federation, which alleges gender discrimination on player compensation. Rapinoe: "Why on Earth wouldn't we pay people equally and treat people equally and invest in people equally in general?" She added, "There's so much left on the table with this team. ... We've had incredible success, we've been able to push the sport forward in so many ways both on and off the field, not just from a soccer perspective but commercially as well. So why not take that next step, invest in the team equally from top to bottom? ... The potential of this team is massively untapped." Morgan: "We really are heartened by the gains that we have made throughout our collective bargaining agreement two years ago and throughout U.S. Soccer, really investing in women's soccer. But I feel like it could get a lot better." She added, "When we look at the investment U.S. Soccer should make, we look at it from the ground up, from the academies and the youth levels. We look at the promotions of games, and how I feel like we are less promoted than the men's side, so we feel like we should be equal on all fronts there. And when it goes to compensation, yeah, we aren't paid a dollar to a dollar, and that's what we're fighting for" (“Today,” NBC, 3/11).
LONG TIME COMING: Rapinoe said there was no “tipping point” that led players to file the lawsuit. She described the process as "years long, 'a journey' that has been both difficult and energizing." In DC, Liz Clarke noted in seeking class-action status, the 28 plaintiffs "hope to include teammates who preceded them in any financial award of back pay or damages." Rapinoe said, "Fight for what you’re worth. And never accept anything less. Never." She added, "The next generation will have its own challenges, for sure. But we want to ensure they don’t have to fight these same fights and that they’ll be standing in a stronger position and on higher mountaintop than we ever were" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/9). Rapinoe said, "I understand the gravity and the weight of it, of filing a lawsuit. In that sense, it is a step up. But ... it's just another step in the process. This has been a long process -- honestly, a decades-long process for all the players that came before. For us, we just feel this is the next necessary step in our fight toward equality, equal pay, working conditions, all of that. I know it's a big to-do, it doesn't necessarily feel like that (to players), but I do understand how important it is and what it means" (ESPN.com, 3/9).
STANDING WITH THEM: USWNT coach Jill Ellis on Saturday "voiced her support" for the players' lawsuit. Ellis: "Obviously, I work for the federation. I think they’ve done amazing things in terms of promoting, developing and evolving the women’s game, so there’s a lot of positives. I’m also a woman and I also recognize moments where we have to continue to push the envelope." She added, "My players, they know I support them" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 3/11). In DC, Will Hobson noted the suit continues a "years-long battle" between the USWNT and U.S. Soccer over the "players’ compensation and treatment compared with that of the men’s team." It is also the "latest entry in a series of high-profile disputes over gender equity in international team sports, including those in basketball, hockey and tennis" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/9).
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: In L.A., Kevin Baxter wrote the lawsuit comes at a "delicate time for both the team and the federation," with the FIFA Women's World Cup kicking off in Paris on June 7. The USWNT have "not threatened a boycott or job action connected to the tournament, but they could wind up playing while in the uncomfortable position of being in litigation against their own federation" (L.A. TIMES, 3/9). In N.Y., Tracy, Crouse & Futterman wrote the litigation "immediately became the central plotline" for the Women's World Cup and "brought to the fore an issue that has increasingly rankled the sports world" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/9). On Long Island, Barbara Barker wrote the public at large is "starting to pay more attention to the pay gap between men and women across society" (NEWSDAY, 3/10). PRO SOCCER USA's Alicia DelGallo noted U.S. Soccer "likely will raise the issue of the men and women having separately negotiated CBAs that feature vastly different pay structures" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 3/8). In N.Y., Mervosh & Caron wrote under the header, "8 Times Women In Sports Fought For Equality" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/9).
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: In DC, Barry Svrluga wrote USWNT members "play their sport at the highest level available." The men "aspire to do the same." Svrluga: "Their pay should be the same, without a suit. Period. Stop with the mansplaining of how the men’s World Cup brings in truckloads more money than the women’s does. Can we concentrate on what’s right here, and think forwards, not in reverse?" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/9). Meanwhile, also in DC, Jacob Bogage noted Adidas will "pay players it sponsors on the winning Women’s World Cup team the same performance bonus that it pays male champions." It is "unclear how much Adidas’s performance bonuses are worth or how many American players are eligible because they carry Adidas sponsorship" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/10).
