It was clear that USMNT players were advised not to talk about the wage inequality between them and the USWNT in past years. The media asked questions and the men deflected them with phrases along the lines of “no comment” or simply not answering. They had done a great job at keeping the players quiet, until now.
The United States National Soccer Team Players Association released a statement denouncing the United States Soccer Federation of taking advantage of its players, men or women, and their value over the years, but more so the women. The document stresses that the governing body has discriminated against the USWNT.
“The Federation has been working very hard to sell a false narrative to the public and even to members of Congress. They have been using this false narrative as a weapon against current and former members of the United States Women’s National Team.”
The association alleges that the federation tricked the USWNT into accepting a bad collective bargaining agreement in 2017. U.S. Soccer controls the National Women’s Soccer League and the Women’s National Team allowing them to have most of the power during negotiations and leaving the players with little say, according to the statement.
The players did not want to blow the third try at a women’s professional soccer league in the U.S. placing them in a predicament where ‘no’ was not an answer. There was no alternative but to sign the deal that runs from 2017-2021.
According to the players association, the deal is worse than the one the men signed from 2011-2018 and that doesn’t account for the dramatic increase in revenue that the Stars and Stripes have produced.
"What we believe should happen is simple. Pay the women significantly more than our recently expired men's deal. In our estimation, the women were due at least triple what our expired deal was worth in player compensation. We believe the Federation should have agreed to a deal directly tied to a fair share of the revenue players generate. That is what should have happened, based on the entire history of labor negotiations involving the men and women players and the Federation."
The U.S. Soccer Federation has tried to trick people into believing that the wage disparagement is not real. Good luck trying to hide the truth after this statement.
