Currently, the US Women's National Soccer Team is ranked number one in the world after their World Cup win this past summer. Their road to Rio has been documented with their 9 game victory tour, the retirement of some of the older players, and Olympic Qualifiers.
But this past Thursday, away from all the celebration, another event occurred. Co-captains Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Hope Solo filed a lawsuit against US Soccer for wage discrimination.
While Lloyd, Morgan, Rapinoe, Sauerbrunn, and Solo were the only players to official sign their names onto the filing, they emphasized it was on behalf of the entire national team. The women's team earns as little as forty percent of what the men's team is earning.
This lawsuit is the latest in the current debate over equal treatment of female athletes. Not only is the women's national team earning less than the men's team, the conditions of the fields they play on are unequal. This past December, the women's team had to cancel a game due to unsafe field conditions during training. Additionally, Megan Rapinoe tore her ACL while training on said field.
The overall treatment of the two teams varies greatly. The women's team who have won several World Cup and Olympic championships deserve to be making the same as the men's team. The women's team is also predicted to win in Rio this summer. Unlike the women's team, the men's team is known for being mediocre at best.
The players also posted about the lawsuit on various social media with the hashtag equal play equal pay. Players of the men's team also spoke out about the lawsuit but they were met with criticism instead of support.
