US Soccer Federation Claims Women Players Are Paid Less Because They Are Inferior To Men

By John Amato — March 12, 2020

In all my years on this planet I've never heard a more sexist and demeaning argument against female athletes than the United States Soccer Federation made against the incredible women that play for the USWNT.

The female players are suing the USFF for equal pay over gender bias. Since they are back to back World Cup champions and lead this nation in soccer, while the men have been an absolute failure for years, it's hard to fathom how they aren't justified in receiving EQUAL pay.

But not if you ask the USFF.

The point is that the job of MNT player (competing against senior men's national teams) requires a higher level of skill based on speed and strength than does the job of WNT player (competing against senior women's national teams)," according to the court filing.

"... A reasonable juror could conclude that the job MNT player requires materially different skill and more responsibility than Plaintiff's job does, while also taking place under materially different working conditions," according to the federation's filing.

U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro and everyone involved with approving or writing these misogynistic legal filings should resign immediately or be fired.

At half time during the SheBelieves Cup game between the US and Japan on ESPN, the always candid Julie Foudy lambasted the Federation.

Foudy said, "As I kept reading and I'm reading more and more, I'm getting more disgusted and more agitated and more infuriated."

She continued, "The thing that kept coming to mind, how, if you are with the federation, you allow the lawyers to come to you and say, hey, let's make this, let's make this our legal argument. Isn't this a great idea? To not just argue that women are inherently different but they are inherently inferior."

"Who in the federation said, Yeah, let's go with that?"

Yeah Julie, who did that?

Foudy, a two time World Cup champion, said it's going to be "hard" for any woman soccer player to get over this.

After the game, Foudy interviewed star player Megan Rapinoe and asked what she thought of the filing.

Megan Rapinoe’s response to US Soccer’s controversial deposition argument 🙃 pic.twitter.com/nUROd5vOVI

— z 🇺🇸 (@wosohype) March 12, 2020

“The team was very upset, obviously,” Rapinoe said on ESPNews. “We had sort of felt those were the certain undercurrent feelings they have had for a long time, but to see that as the argument, a sort of blatant misogyny and sexism as the argument against us, is really disappointing.

“I just want to say, it’s all false. To every girl out there, to every boy out there, who watches this team, who wants to be on this team or just wants to live their dream out, you are not lesser just because you are a girl. You are not better just because you’re a boy. We are all created equal and should all have the equal opportunity to go out and pursue our dreams.

“And for us, that means playing on the soccer field, so everything that was in that deposition of what they said in the argument is not true. Don’t ever believe that.”

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