Fox soccer analyst and former USWNT player Heather O'Reilly said it was "right" for Carlos Cordeiro to "step down immediately" as U.S. Soccer President over the language used in the federation's legal defense of the USWNT's equal pay lawsuit, according to Glenn Crooks of PRO SOCCER USA. O'Reilly said she hopes Cordeiro and the "people that have employed those lawyers in their heart of hearts don't feel that women are inferior athletes," but somebody had to "take the fall." O’Reilly was part of the Athlete's Council that supported Cordeiro's candidacy in '18, but now believes electing Cordeiro "was a mistake." O'Reilly: "We had a lot of faith in Carlos to kind of steady the ship, and it's fair to say that some of the promises kind of fell flat." O'Reilly said she was "crushed" by U.S. Soccer's previous legal strategy against the USWNT in their equal pay litigation. But she added, "There are some good things that he did and I don't think that Carlos Cordeiro is a monster by any stretch. But he got this wrong." Meanwhile, O'Reilly said new USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone is "very bright" and "level headed" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 3/18).
