Orlando Pride striker and superstar Alex Morgan is at the front of a lawsuit that cuts to the heart of a major national issue.
Morgan, along with several U.S. Women’s National Team players on behalf of the entire team, sued U.S. Soccer in a federal court over wage discrimination. The lawsuit claims that the women’s team is paid as little as 40 percent of what the men’s team is paid for exhibition games and World Cup games.
This despite continuing raised revenues for the women’s team and the success that came from a record third World Cup trophy.
Big day for women’s sports. Learn more about an important action we filed demanding equal pay for equal work. https://t.co/n8wwysuvZ1 #USWNT
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) March 31, 2016
“The numbers speak for themselves,” said goalkeeper Hope Solo, one of the players to sign the complaint, to Andrew Das of The New York Times. “We are the best in the world, have three World Cup championships, four Olympic championships.” Solo said the men’s players “get paid more to just show up than we get paid to win major championships.”
The lawsuit will not affect Morgan’s play with the Orlando Pride. The team is currently wrapping up preseason training before the opener April 17 in Portland.
The U.S. Women’s team’s most visible and noteworthy rising star though is very much leading the charge for equality for women’s soccer players. At least staying in front of things.
This is not the only issue women’s soccer players around he world are fighting against. Several players raised complaints and sued FIFA for unequal treatment when the World Cup was played on artificial turf rather than natural grass. They claimed FIFA would never allow a men’s World Cup game to be played on artificial turf.
“This is not only about equal pay — we get paid less than half of our male counterparts — but also equal treatment,” Morgan said in a statement posted to her social media accounts. “We deserve to play in top-notch, grass-only facilities like the U.S. Men’s National Team, not dangerous turf fields. We want to have decent travel accommodations. We have dedicated our lives to this sport and our country and we love soccer and our fans. We think it’s time for employers to truly address the inequality and do not only what is fair, but what is right.”
Phil Rawlins of Orlando City told Alicia Del Gallo of the Orlando Sentinel there is precedent for this kind of a challenge. The organization seems to be taking a neutral stance and showing some support for their star player.
The Orlando Pride will play this season on artificial turf at the Orlando Citrus Bowl, but will move to Orlando City’s new stadium and natural grass next year. It continues to be an equality issue for the sport.
The leaders in the sport though are taking the lead on this issue and raising awareness for them and future generations of women’s soccer players. The U.S. is a unique soccer market where the women’s team generates as much interest and revenue as the men’s team in many ways. It certainly seems like there should be a much more fairer treatment.
Whatever comes out of this lawsuit, it will start a discussion and hopefully create better conditions and benefits for a team that captivates the country every four years and produces wins for U.S. soccer.
