USSF's letter came on the eve of the SheBelieves game between USWNT and SpainGETTY IMAGES
The U.S. Soccer Federation said that it has "offered the women's national team equal pay to male counterparts for matches under USSF control but maintains the women want bonuses for tournaments such as the World Cup to match those of the men," according to Ronald Blum of the AP. The USWNT disputed the USSF account and said that the federation "proposed to match rates the men had under their labor deal that expired" in December '18. USSF President Carlos Cordeiro in a letter wrote, "Since extending this offer, we have made multiple attempts to meet with the WNT to discuss these new options. So far, they have repeatedly declined our invitation to meet on the premise that our proposal does not include U.S. Soccer agreeing to make up the difference in future prize money awarded by FIFA for the Men's and Women's World Cups." Blum noted Cordeiro's letter was released Saturday, "a day before" the USWNT played Spain in the SheBelieves Cup. USWNT spokesperson Molly Levinson said in a statement, "The USSF letter is riddled with falsehoods and issued on the eve of the SheBelieves game, which demonstrates that it is more important to USSF to diminish the women’s team than it is to support them on the field. USSF did not and has never offered equal pay to the women players" (AP, 3/8).
FIGHT GOES ON: YAHOO SPORTS' Caitlin Murray cited a source as saying that the USWNT has "refused three times" to meet with USSF. Another source "disputes Cordeiro’s characterization that he reached out to the Players Association, saying that his proposal was sent to the players’ legal counsel, as that’s the proper channel for settlement proposals" Murray wrote the "timing of Cordeiro's letter is not exactly ideal" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/7). In N.Y., Andrew Das notes Cordeiro’s letter "infuriated the players." USWNT F Megan Rapinoe said, "If that’s how you want to celebrate International Women’s Day and show support for not only your players but for potentially future players and girls all over the place, that’s one way to do it." Das notes players "accused Cordeiro of repeatedly trying to arrange meetings with the team outside the presence of the athletes’ lawyers." Cordeiro defended his efforts yesterday, saying that he was "merely trying to restart a dialogue that has gone nowhere for months." Cordeiro: “I’m trying to have an amicable sit-down that will end in a resolution" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/9).
