US Men's National Team players broke its silence on equal pay and gender discrimination, calling for the women's team to earn 'triple' the men's pay

Meredith Cash,Meredith CashFeb 13, 2020, 03:56 IST

The USMNT broke its silence on the USWNT's equal pay and gender discrimination lawsuit Wednesday.
In a damning statement released by the players association, the men said US Soccer - both teams' governing body - "had no intention of compensating the women fairly" because it was "trying to protect their monopoly."
The statement also suggested that the USWNT players "were due at least triple what our expired deal was worth in player compensation."
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Much of the conversation surrounding the US Women's National Team's widely-publicized fight for equal pay - and ensuing lawsuit against US Soccer - has involved comparisons to the men's squad and its players' compensation.

They've stayed notoriously silent on the issue - that is, until now.

In a statement released Wednesday, the US men's national team's players association expressed its frustration with the federation, saying US Soccer "had no intention of compensating the women fairly."

They also called for the women to make "triple" the men's players' pay.

The association suggested that the federation strongarmed the USWNT into accepting a bad collective bargaining agreement in 2017. Since US Soccer controls both National Women's Soccer League - the women's professional soccer league in which every member of the USWNT plays - and the national team itself, the men's players association argued that the USWNT players had little bargaining power during negotiations.

The players were "aware that a work stoppage could destroy the third effort at a women's professional soccer league in the United States" and completely eradicate both of their primary sources of income, and thus had "no reasonable alternative but to accept the 2017-2021 terms the Federation demanded."

That deal, according to the men's team, "is worse than the men's 2011-2018 deal" and did not account for "the dramatic increase in revenue associated with the USWNT." As a result, the men's players association stated bluntly that "Yes, the Federation continues to discriminate against the women in their wages and working conditions."

"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 men also claim that US Soccer is attempting to "cover-up" its "indefensible" actions regarding the 2017 CBA by "taking the frivolous position that the USMNT players' compensation should also stay at those 2011-2018 numbers."

They concluded their damning account of the federation's continued use of "monopoly power as a weapon against the players" with a call to action:

"Tell the Federation's sponsors you will not support them until the Federation starts doing the right thing and gives the women a new CBA that pays a fair share of the gate receipts and that television and sponsorship revenue to the players. Write to your Congressional representatives and tell them it is time to reform the Federation. Let the Federation know that you do not believe the false narrative they are circulating."

"Support the players, not the Federation," they added.

You can read the entire statement on the players association's website.

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US Men's National Team players broke its silence on equal pay and gender discrimination, calling for the women's team to earn 'triple' the men's pay