Did you hear those chants as the U.S.A. women's team won their fourth World Cup title?
"You hear that? That honestly is stunning. That as the U.S. team wins the World Cup, what are the chants in the stadium in France? Not 'U.S.A., U.S.A.," but 'equal pay, equal pay.' That in itself is a sign that the U.S. women are winning the battle that they have been waging. They set the bar so high for themselves, not just to win the World Cup but to also fight this larger battle against gender discrimination," CNN's John Berman said.
"Every player on this team, part of this lawsuit against U.S. soccer to be paid the same amount that their male counterparts are. That same male team that did not request for the last world cup. Joining us now, CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. and honestly, when you hear the chants all the way across the ocean in France for equal pay, that shows you the influence of this team,"
"If I'm the lawyers going into mediation in a couple weeks after the ticker tape parade and whatever happens here in Washington, I'm showing a video of that, among other things," Brennan said.
"If i'm on the players' side with this one with the mediation, I'm bringing stacks of clips, front pages of newspapers, everything you can to show what an incredible four weeks this was for the U.S. Women's team. I could make the case if you are planning a strategy to get to the bargaining table, this would be exactly what you'd do, including having the president involved. In other words, this couldn't have been a bigger story. It's still a big story. And I think that actually helps the players' case very much."
"Christine, they generate more revenue than the men. They get better ratings than the men. Oh, and they win more often than the men," Alysin Camerota said.
"What could possibly be the soccer federation's rationale this point for not paying them the same or better?"
Brennan pointed out that the women signed the bargaining agreement, so why would FIFA want to reopen it?
"I think the pressure of this moment is going to change that. That would be their argument. And I think that U.S. soccer would also say that they're doing better than everybody else in the world. And they are, but that is faint praise because soccer is probably the most sexist organization. FIFA is. We've seen some of the ridiculous things, including scheduling. Not just one event yesterday, but two other big international competitions. I don't think that holds much weight. Frankly, I don't think any of this does. I think the women win here because I think this has been such a massive PR wonderful turn of events for them."
