Judge Strikes Major Part of US Women's Soccer Case After Discovering Men's Team Is Actually Paid Less
The U.S. women’s national soccer team suffered a rare but devastating defeat on Friday after a judge rejected claims that the female soccer players were paid less than men.
The court ruling prompted presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to post a Twitter threat to the U.S. Soccer Federation that it should give the women what they want or face his wrath.
Judge R. Gary Klausner of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of the U.S. Soccer Federation in a case that had its roots in a 2015 compliant from the women that they were underpaid compared to male players.
“The WNT [Women’s National Team] has been paid more on both a cumulative and an average per-game basis than the MNT [Men’s National Team] over the class period,” Klausner ruled, according to a Reuters report supplemented by the U.K. Daily Mail.
The judge ruled that the women “have not demonstrated a triable issue that WNT players are paid less than MNT players,” according to ESPN.
The ruling called it an undisputed fact that from 2015 to 2019, the women’s national team averaged $220,747 per game in total payments (for a total of $24.5 million), while the men’s national team averaged $212,639 per game in total payments (for a total of $18.5 million).
The ruling also said that the women rejected a collective bargaining agreement that would have been the same as that of male players, according to CNN.
Women are paid whether they play a match or not, the ruling noted. Men are paid only when they are called into camp to play and then do so, the ruling said.
Klausner said it appeared the women were claiming that they should have been paid more because the contract deal for the men was better.
“This approach — merely comparing what each team would have made under the other team’s CBA — is untenable in this case because it ignores the reality that the MNT and WNT bargained for different agreements which reflect different preferences, and that the WNT explicitly rejected the terms they now seek to retroactively impose on themselves,” Klausner wrote. “This evidence is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact for trial.”
The players said the decision will be appealed.
“We are shocked and disappointed with today’s decision, but we will not give up our hard work for equal pay,” Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the players, wrote on Twitter. “We are confident in our case and steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that girls and women who play this sport will not be valued as lesser just because of their gender. We have learned that there are tremendous obstacles to change; we know that it takes bravery and courage and perseverance to stand up to them. We will appeal and press on.”
1/2 We are shocked and disappointed with today’s decision, but we will not give up our hard work for equal pay. We are confident in our case and steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that girls and women will not be valued as lesser just because of their gender.
— mollylevinson (@mollylevinson) May 1, 2020
2/2 We have learned that there are tremendous obstacles to change; we know that it takes bravery and courage and perseverance to stand up to them. We will appeal and press on. Words cannot express our gratitude to all who support us.
— mollylevinson (@mollylevinson) May 1, 2020
We will never stop fighting for EQUALITY.
— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) May 2, 2020
Biden weighed in as well.
To @USWNT: don’t give up this fight. This is not over yet.
To @USSoccer: equal pay, now. Or else when I’m president, you can go elsewhere for World Cup funding. https://t.co/XK6t9oM94k
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 2, 2020
Biden’s comment earned him some pushback on Twitter.
Stop this fake outrage. The facts do NOT support their victim narrative.https://t.co/ezRIAdAwsD
— Brad Polumbo (@brad_polumbo) May 2, 2020
U.S. Soccer issued a statement in response to the ruling, according to The New York Times.
“We look forward to working with the women’s national team to chart a positive path forward to grow the game both here at home and around the world,” the statement said. “U.S. Soccer has long been the world leader for the women’s game on and off the field, and we are committed to continuing that work to ensure our women’s national team remains the best in the world and sets the standard for women’s soccer.”
The equal pay contention was one piece of the lawsuit filed by the women again U.S. Soccer. The judge ruled that female players’ claims that they are not treated equally in areas such as travel, training, and housing could go forward.
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