USWNT Victory Parade Turns Into Political Spectacle When Democrat Shows Up To Steal Spotlight
The U.S. women’s run through the World Cup was tarnished by political posturing, especially by team leader and national anthem protester Megan Rapinoe, so it’s not surprising that politics would intrude on a parade celebrating their victory.
A ticker-tape parade for the team was held in New York City on Wednesday, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the trip down from Albany for some political pandering.
The Democrat glommed onto the U.S. women’s complaints about not being paid as much as the U.S. men’s team by signing an “Equal Pay for Equal Work” bill in a ceremony in Manhattan prior to the parade.
“If you don’t pay women what you pay men, you have no business in the state of New York,” he declared.
Before the Parade kicks off @NYGovCuomo holds a presser saying “If you don’t pay women what you pay men, you have no business in the state of New York,” then signs equal pay for for equal work bill in support of #USWNT @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/gJg2skMJ8Z
— Natalie Duddridge (@CityNatalie) July 10, 2019
Cuomo took a shot at the U.S. men’s team in a tweet about the bill signing.
“I just signed new pay equity legislation at the #USWNTParade,” the governor said. “The women’s soccer team plays the same game that the men’s soccer players play — only better. If anything, the men should get paid less.”
#BREAKING: I just signed new pay equity legislation at the #USWNTParade.
The women’s soccer team plays the same game that the men’s soccer players play — only better. If anything, the men should get paid less.
Thank you @USWNT for helping lead this movement for change! pic.twitter.com/qHy2aYs2Tl
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 10, 2019
The parade should have been a celebration of the women’s team and its accomplishments. The talented U.S. women are No. 1 in the world and have won the past two World Cups.
Instead, Cuomo grabbed the spotlight for himself by signing a completely empty piece of legislation.
It’s already illegal to pay women less than men for the same job in the United States. It has been since John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law.
There exists a “wage gap” between men and women, although it can easily be explained in ways politicians like Cuomo would not prefer.
The “gap” does not take into account hours worked, years of experience, different jobs and so on.
Ultimately, PayScale reports the “controlled” wage gap — accounting for these factors — between men and women is 2 percent. This is within the margin of error, and far from the 21 percentage points those on the left claim.
In the case of the U.S. women’s soccer team, it is paid less than the men’s team because of the massive difference in revenue they generate: The 2018 men’s World Cup earned more than $6 billion, while the women’s World Cup this year is projected to make a tiny fraction of that — about $130 million.
Cuomo was not the only Democrat using the women’s team pay for political grandstanding.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin introduced a bill to the Senate on Tuesday that would withhold federal funding from the 2026 World Cup until the U.S. Soccer Federation paid the women the same as the men.
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