USWNT shows defiance during National Anthem

By Jennifer Edwards
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

FRISCO, TEXAS (March 14, 2020) Last Wednesday night, it looked like a showdown at the O-K Corral with the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) on one side and the United States Soccer Federation on the other. To give background for those who do not know, the United States Women’s Soccer Team players filed a gender-discrimination lawsuit against the Federation in March of 2019. At the heart of the lawsuit is the fact that the ladies were paid far less than their counterparts, while the ladies were far more successful in World Cup and Olympic showings than the men’s team were. The suit was filed under the Equal Pay Act and Title 8 of the Civil Liberties Act. This suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in California. 

The battle of words and actions has heated up on both sides ahead of the May 2020 trial date. The United States Men’s Team added to the USWNT’s claims of gender-discrimination by saying that the United States Soccer Federation, “has been working hard to sell a false narrative to the public and even to members of Congress.” The Federation felt they paid the Women’s Team fairly when reviewing financial records. The Federation states that for 10 years the Women’s team was paid $34.1 million in salary and game bonuses to the Men’s $26.4 million. While these numbers back up what the Federation is saying, the USWNT and USMST do not agree. This week the Federation added to the suit by saying that the women were less skilled than the men arguing that it is “indisputable science”. 

As the USWNT took the field for the final match of the She Believes Cup last Wednesday they defied the Federation and wore their jerseys inside out during the walk-in and national anthem, only showing the four stars representing the four World Cup titles and not showcasing the US Soccer shield that is beneath the stars. Women stand out Megan Rapinoe stated, 

“Is that truly how they feel about 50 percent of the population that they are supposed to be stewarding into the game of soccer? I think that says a lot about how they feel about us … It’s undertones and undercurrents, sometimes blatantly, that we’ve experienced before which is why we’ve filed the gender discrimination lawsuit.” 

The US Soccer Federation President, Carlos Cordeiro, apologized for the remarks made and resigned on Thursday afternoon.