In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in California, 28 members of the U.S. national women’s soccer team allege gender discrimination by the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Among the grievances listed in the suit are complaints the women are paid less than their male counterparts, play on fields with poorer conditions than men, and are subject to ongoing “institutionalized gender discrimination.”
A long time coming, it is surely no coincidence the lawsuit was filed on International Women’s Day. Also, since the filing is seeking class-action status, the lawsuit will represent current and former members of the women’s national team dating back to 2015.
“Despite the fact that these female and male players are called upon to perform the same job responsibilities on their teams and participate in international competitions for their single common employer, the USSF, the female players have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts,” the players, including Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, write in the lawsuit. “This is true even though their performance has been superior to that of the male players – with the female players, in contrast to male players, becoming world champions.”
Morgan also released an individual prepared statement: “Each of us is extremely proud to wear the United States jersey, and we also take seriously the responsibility that comes with that. We believe that fighting for gender equality in sports is a part of that responsibility. As players, we deserved to be paid equally for our work, regardless of our gender.”
The lawsuit comes just three months before the women’s team will defend its title during the Women’s World Cup.
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