The United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) filed a complaint against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for wage discrimination. This complaint was filed on Thursday, March 31 just five months ahead of the 2016 Olympics, in which the USWNT is picked to win the tournament.
“We definitely do not deserve to be paid what we earn now,” Courtney Niemiec, professional women soccer player for the Western New York Flash, said.
Women in sports have been fighting for equal rights ever since Title IX in 1972. Title IX states that gender equality between men and women must be allowed in every educational program or activity that receives federal funding including sports.
“I believe that in this day and age it is crazy to even be having this argument.” Gabby LeGrende, sophomore soccer player, said. “I don’t see why there is even a question as to what the answer should be for this issue.”
The United States women’s national team played its first game in 1985 against Italy losing 1-0. They only played four teams that year. Each year, they increased their number of games to compete with other teams. In 1991, FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association, announced its first women’s World Cup. The United States took home the first inaugural title against Norway. From 1991 to 1999, the United States was dominant. They won the 1996 Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. The team was known, but in 1999 everything changed in women’s sports.
“Yes, ever since the women’s World Cup I think women’s soccer has substantially grew,” Niemiec said.
The 1999 women’s World Cup was held in Pasadena, California. The United States were on home soil. The finals were held at the Rose Bowl in front of 90,000 people. The USWNT, led by Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain, beat China 5-4 in penalty kicks. The iconic image of defender Brandi Chastain on her knees holding her jersey in her hand was from that World Cup. From that moment, the view on women’s sports changed. Professional leagues were formed due to the ‘99 World Cup. The demand for women’s soccer increased.
The next pivotal moment came in 2011 when the USWNT was picked to win the World Cup. The team played six games. In the finals they lost to Japan in penalty kicks. This caused an uproar in sports and brought attention to the women’s game.
Cabrini women’s soccer coach Ken Prothero has coached college soccer for over 14 years.
”Three FIFA World Cup Championships and hopes for a fifth olympic gold medal this summer says a lot about the success of the U.S. women’s national team,” Prothero said.
The USWNT has not stopped since they started. Now in 2016, this is no different. The women’s team is preparing for their fifth olympic gold medal, fourth in a row. This team is coming off a high in 2015, winning the women’s world cup that was held in Canada. The team played Japan, who, four years ago, handed them a heartbreaking loss. The USWNT would not let that happen again. They won the finals 5-2 with Carli Lloyd scoring a hat trick in the first 20 minutes. They generated an immense amount of buzz. In the year of 2015, the United States women’s national team generated 20 million more in revenue then the men’s team but the women earned four times less.
Landon Donovan, professional men’s soccer player, recently said in a tweet, “I’m not for equal pay, I’m for fair pay. If #USWNT generate more revenue, they should be paid more.”
“But I couldn’t agree more with what Landon Donavan tweeted out,” Niemiec said. “I don’t agree with equal pay, but with fair pay.”
The women are ranked number one in the world. In the 2015 World Cup, the women generated over 23 million viewers, which is a 77 percent increase in ratings since the 2011 World Cup. To compare the numbers this was the same amount of viewers that tuned into Game seven of the 2014 World Series.
“It’s not just the big ticket events either,” Prothero said. “Just a few weeks ago, the US played Columbia in a sold out match at the Union’s stadium. They have a match in early June vs Japan. Tickets were gone in less than 10 minutes. There is no doubt in my mind that women should be getting paid equally on and off the field.”
The USWNT is putting up the same numbers as the USMNT, who is ranked 30th in the world. Why are the USWNT players fighting for equal pay if their numbers are better than the men?
“I believe that the pay for women [in any sport] should be closer, if not equal, to their male counterpart,” LeGendre said. “Professional women put in just as much time and effort into their sports as men do. The women’s national soccer team has done some pretty amazing things, consistently making playoffs of major tournaments, finals and even winning the World Cup in 2015. As a country we should be building them up for their accomplishments, not bringing them down with pay inequality.”
Five national team players signed this complaint. Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn were the five who signed, but this is a complaint supported by the whole team. Hope Solo told NBC Today Show’s Matt Laurer that she has played on this team for almost a decade and there has not been a change. Solo and her teammates are told repeatedly that there will be a change but nothing has ever been done.
A few notes:
1. The graphic also fails to include expenses for the USWNT’s non-pay benefits, including medical insurance and leave; the Men’s team have none of these things in their contract. Moreover, even if a player in the USWNT is injured or pregnant, they continue to receive their paychecks, as they are on guaranteed contracts; The USMNT players do not get paid if they do not appear in a game.
By extension, the graphic is incomplete at best, and woefully inaccurate at worst.
2. ALL businesses are seasonal in nature. For example, FAR fewer people move and buy new homes in Philadelphia in winter, compared to the summer months. It would be dishonest for realtor “A” to brag about her sales in June and July, compared to realtor “B’s” relatively slow sales record in December and January.
In much the same way, it is [at best] lazy, and at worst dishonest to compare ONLY ONE year between the men’s and women’s teams, as opposed to each team’s 4 year cycle. 2015 was a high water mark for the USWNT, given the successful world cup. But when looking at their numbers in totality over a cycle, the women produce far less revenue than the men’s team.
This matters in an entertainment business such as sports. Or modeling, for example.
3. I don’t believe that this is a case of “equal work.” The women did not leave North America in 2015, and have not left North America for a competitive match in nearly 2 years. The women’s World Cup qualification is a 2 week tournament, entirely AT HOME. And, hardly any of their opponents enjoy the same degree of support from their FAs as the USWNT do; as a result there are fewer than a handful of opponents that can beat the US. And again, pretty much every member of the USWNT has a GUARANTEED contract, which is why there are some geezing geezers in the roster.
By comparison, the men have played competitive matches in the Americas as well as in Europe. The qualification for the World Cup is a 2 year slug that requires that they play in very hostile environments. Moreover, the overarching majority of the USMNT’s opponents enjoy MORE support from their FAs. Lastly, NONE of the roster spots for the USMNT are guaranteed.
In sum, while I am a fan of the USWNT, I don’t believe that this is an equal play/equal pay argument. I don’t believe that there is any degree of discrimination. That said, I believe that they deserve more pay, better travel and training arrangements. But all of these things can/should be collectively negotiated.