{"id":6559,"date":"2022-02-22T13:25:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T13:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/news\/u-s-soccer-and-womens-players-agree-to-settle-equal-pay-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2022-02-22T13:26:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T13:26:29","slug":"u-s-soccer-and-womens-players-agree-to-settle-equal-pay-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/news\/u-s-soccer-and-womens-players-agree-to-settle-equal-pay-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Soccer and Women\u2019s Players Agree to Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">A six-year fight over equal pay that had pitted key members of the World Cup-winning United States women\u2019s soccer team against their sport\u2019s national governing body ended on Tuesday morning with a settlement that included a multimillion-dollar payment to the players and a promise by their federation to equalize pay between the men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Under the terms of the agreement, the athletes \u2014 a group comprising several dozen current and former women\u2019s national team players \u2014 will share $24 million in payments from the federation, U.S. Soccer. The bulk of that figure is back pay, a tacit admission that compensation for the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams had been unequal for years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Perhaps more notable than the payment, though \u2014 at least, for the players \u2014 is U.S. Soccer\u2019s pledge to equalize pay between the men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams in all competitions, including the World Cup, in the teams\u2019 next collective bargaining agreements. That gap was once seen as an unbridgeable divide preventing any sort of settlement; if it is closed by the federation in ongoing negotiations with both teams, the change could funnel millions of dollars to a new generation of women\u2019s players.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The settlement is contingent on the ratification of a new contract between U.S. Soccer and the players\u2019 union for the women\u2019s team. It will end all claims remaining in the gender discrimination lawsuit filed by players in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy process to get to this point for sure,\u201d U.S. Soccer\u2019s president, Cindy Parlow Cone, said in a telephone interview. \u201cThe most important thing here is that we are moving forward, and we are moving forward together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">U.S. Soccer has reached an expensive settlement after a long legal battle that had damaged its reputation, damaged its ties to sponsors and damaged its relationship some of its most prominent stars, such as Megan Rapinoe, Carli, and Alex Morgan. U.S. Soccer was under no obligation to settle with the women\u2019s team; a federal judge in 2020 had dismissed the players\u2019 equal pay arguments, stripping them of nearly all of their legal leverage, and the players\u2019 appeal was not certain to succeed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The settlement is therefore an unexpected victory of the players: Nearly 2 years after losing in court to one devastating ruling, they were finally able to get an 8-figure settlement and a commitment from federation to implement the very reforms that judge had rejected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Morgan, in a telephone interview, called the settlement \u201ca monumental win for us, and for women.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">\u201cWhat we set out to do,\u201d she said, \u201cwas to have acknowledgment of discrimination from U.S. Soccer, and we received that through back pay in the settlement. We wanted fair and equal treatment in work conditions. That was what we achieved through the working conditions settlement. And we set out to have equal pay moving forward for us and the men\u2019s team through U.S. Soccer, and we achieved that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">In exchange for the payout and U.S. Soccer\u2019s pledge to address equal pay in future contracts with its two marquee teams, the women\u2019s players agreed to release the federation from all remaining claims in the team\u2019s gender discrimination lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">This process could take several months. The men\u2019s and women\u2019s team already have held joint negotiating sessions with U.S. Soccer, but to make the deal work \u2014 the federation is seeking a single collective bargaining agreement that covers both national teams \u2014 the men\u2019s players association will have to agree to share, or surrender, millions of dollars in potential World Cup payments from FIFA, world soccer\u2019s governing body. Those payments, set by FIFA and exponentially larger for the men\u2019s World Cup than the corresponding women\u2019s tournament, are at the heart of the equal pay divide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Cone, a former member of the women\u2019s team, said in September that the federation would not sign new collective bargaining agreements with either team that did not equalize World Cup prize money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re not on opposite sides,\u201d Cone said at the time. \u201cIt may seem that way at times, but we\u2019re on the same team, we all have the same goal. It\u2019s just how do we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The players\u2019 long battle with U.S. Soccer, which is not only their employer but also the federation that governs the sport in America, had thrust them to the forefront of a broader fight for equality in women\u2019s sports and drawn the support of fellow athletes, celebrities, politicians and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hillaryclinton\/status\/715602178619080708\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">presidential candidates<\/a>. In recent years, players, teams and even athletes in other sports \u2014 hockey gold medalists, Canadian soccer pros, W.N.B.A. players \u2014 had reached out to the United States players and their union for guidance in efforts to win similar gains in pay and working conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">\u201cWe very much believe it is our responsibility,\u201d Rapinoe said in 2019, \u201cnot only for our team and for future U.S. players, but for players around the world \u2014 and frankly women all around the world \u2014 to feel like they have an ally in standing up for themselves, and fighting for what they believe in, and fighting for what they deserve and for what they feel like they have earned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Many of those players and teams succeeded in winning major gains \u2014 Norway, Australia and the Netherlands are among the countries whose soccer federations have committed to closing the pay gap between men and women \u2014 even as the U.S. players\u2019 case dragged on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The equal pay battle began six years ago when five top players filed a complaint against U.S. Soccer for wage discrimination. The women, key members of a team that at the time was the reigning World Cup and Olympic champion, claimed that they earned as little as 40 percent of what players on the men\u2019s national team were paid. The players \u2014 Morgan, Rapinoe, Lloyd, Hope Solo and Becky Sauerbrunn \u2014 said they were being shortchanged on bonuses, appearance fees and even meal money while they were in training camps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">\u201cThe numbers speak for themselves,\u201d Solo said, though U.S. Soccer immediately disputed them. Men\u2019s players, Solo said, \u201cget paid more to just show up than we get paid to win major championships.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The fight was over almost immediately and soccer fans took sides, dividing U.S. Soccer down to the middle. The federation briefly argued the men were more financially successful and had higher television ratings and therefore deserved higher salaries, but it quickly abandoned this position amid player fury and public backlash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The sides were already trading their first shots in court, and in the media. The ruling was made by the Federation that banned players from boycotting 2016 Olympics. They were also pressing for new contracts. However, this was only after an embarrassing gaffe where one of its court filings failed in redacting the addresses and email accounts of approximately two dozen top players.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Later depositions produced uncomfortable exchanges that the public relations-savvy women\u2019s players weaponized on social media and in slogans they sold on T-shirts. They also produced statements that the players wouldn&#8217;t forgive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">In March 2020, months after the women\u2019s team won its second straight Women\u2019s World Cup, U.S. Soccer\u2019s lawyers argued in a court filing that playing for the men\u2019s team required more \u201cskill\u201d and \u201cresponsibility\u201d than the women\u2019s equivalent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">\u201cTo see that blatant misogyny and sexism as the argument used against us is really disappointing,\u201d Rapinoe said, adding, \u201cI know that we\u2019re in a contentious fight, but that crossed a line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">A settlement has seemed the most likely way out for the sides since April 2020, when the judge in the women\u2019s lawsuit, R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, dismissed the argument that they were systematically underpaid and said that U.S. Soccer had substantiated its claim that the women\u2019s team had actually earned more \u201con both a cumulative and an average per-game basis\u201d than the men\u2019s team during the years covered by the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The women\u2019s team had, in one of the case\u2019s great ironies, become victims of its own success. In choosing to fight U.S. Soccer while they were at the peak of their powers as World Cup champions, the women had also picked the absolute worst time to line up a few years of their salaries against a few years of the men\u2019s pay as the men at the time were foundering competitively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">By failing to qualify for the only men\u2019s World Cup played during the lawsuit\u2019s window, the men became ineligible for millions of dollars in performance bonuses, even as the women collected bonuses \u2014 twice \u2014 for winning their World Cup and won higher pay after successfully negotiating new contracts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The women vowed to appeal the judge\u2019s ruling, and a deal over working conditions signaled compromise was still possible. At the time, Cone, a former women\u2019s national team player, had restated her persistent optimism that a larger deal could put the fight behind U.S. Soccer and the team, and her hopes for building \u201ca different relationship\u201d with the women\u2019s team and of a chance to \u201crebuild the trust\u201d between the sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/02\/22\/sports\/soccer\/uswnt-equal-pay-lawsuit.html\">NY Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A six-year fight over equal pay that had pitted key members of the World Cup-winning United States women\u2019s soccer team against their sport\u2019s national governing body ended on Tuesday morning with a settlement that included a multimillion-dollar payment to the players and a promise by their federation to equalize pay between the men\u2019s and women\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6559"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6560,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6559\/revisions\/6560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}