US Women's National Soccer Team Suing for Equal Pay

http://espn.go.com/espnw/sports/article/15102506/women-national-team-files-wage-discrimination-action-vs-us-soccer-federation

Karly Morgan

I’ve written about the atrocity of the pay gap between the US Men’s and US Women’s soccer teams before, and finally, the women are going to get their day in court.

The United States Women’s National Soccer Team won the last Women’s World Cup. It was the most watched soccer game of any kind by American viewers in history. Last year, the women generated $20,000,000 MORE revenue than the men. That’s right, twenty million dollars MORE. Yet, the women are paid about a quarter of what the men are paid.

In 2014, the US Men’s team had a losing record in world cup play, and were knocked out during play for the round of 16. They were paid $9million.

The US Women’s team won the entire world cup, were internationally declared the best women’s soccer team in the world, and they were paid $2million. That sum was divided among the organization, coaches, and players.

The 2014 Men’s World Cup champions were awarded $35million.

The numbers are irrefutable, and the USWNST are taking this prejudicial atrocity to the courtroom. Landon Donovan, a prominent former US men’s team soccer player, tweeted that the women certainly deserved to be treated equally in every way. Senator and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tweeted that she wouldn’t want to face those women on the field or in the courtroom.

Fans of the USWNST will be cheering harder than ever for a victory, and this time, it’s not just about scoring goals- it’s about equal rights.