It’s a historic day for the US Women’s National Team which has finally been able to claim victory in their six-year fight for equal pay with U.S. Soccer Federation. It’s astonishing that it took this long for the successful program to get a settlement, but the $24 million will make a huge difference in the athletes‘ lives.
The class-action gender discrimination lawsuit was originally filed in 2019 by some of the top players from the World Cup-winning team, including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. The USWNT players will be paid $22 million with an additional $2 million set aside for post-career goals and charitable efforts, per the settlement. Each player can apply for up to $50,000 from the fund.
U.S. Soccer and @USWNT are proudly standing together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer. pic.twitter.com/Sp8q7NY0Up
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) February 22, 2022
A joint statement from U.S. Soccer and USWNT acknowledges that they “proudly stand together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer,” but there were challenges along the way. “Getting to this day has not been easy. The U.S. Women’s National Team players have achieved unprecedented success while working to achieve equal pay for themselves and future athletes,” they added. “Today, we recognize the legacy of the past USWNT leaders who helped to make this day possible, as well as all of the women and girls who will follow. Together, we dedicate this moment to them.”
Rapinoe celebrated the victory on the Today Show, “For us, this is just a huge win in ensuring that we not only right the wrongs of the past, but set the next generation up for something we only dreamed of. We are really in the midst of an incredible turning point in women’s sport.” However, Morgan reminded their fans that the fight is not over and that FIFA, the international organization governing soccer, needs to step up next. “U.S. Soccer has agreed to equalize the prize money moving forward, obviously we call on FIFA to truly equalize that for men’s and women’s tournaments,” she explained. “That’s really what we set out to do. Equalize on all fronts.”
Before you go, click here to see the most important celebrity lawsuits over the past 15 years.
Leave a Comment