Women’s World Cup champs drag USFA to court
Five senior members of the World Cup-winning US football team have filed a lawsuit against the national federation for wage discrimination.
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Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo say they are paid less than half of what the male USA players receive.
"The numbers speak for themselves," said goalkeeper Solo in a statement.
The US Soccer Federation said it was disappointed, given the work it had done in building the women's game.
American women's football has dominated the international game in recent decades, with a string of titles.
"We are the best in the world, have three World Cup Championships, four Olympic Championships, and the USMNT [men's team] get paid more just to show up than we get paid to win major championships," said Solo.
The lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission yesterday morning.
One of the lawyers representing the players, Jeffrey Kessler, said the women's game generated more income for US Soccer than the men's and it was time to address the "discriminatory and unfair treatment'' they have endured for years.
The five players were acting on behalf of all the players, he said.-— BBC