The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) has spent the year since their record-setting World Cup victory celebrating in a unique way: fighting for U.S. Soccer to provide them with the same financial compensation, playing conditions, and travel arrangements as their male counterparts on the men’s side. This weekend, at a match against South Africa in played on Soldier Field in Chicago, they kicked that fight for equality up a notch — with #EqualPlayEqualPay T-shirts, temporary tattoos, and social media posts. Since a judge recently ruled that their current collective bargaining agreement is valid, thus taking away their ability to strike, and talks with U.S. Soccer over a new collective bargaining agreement have stalled, the team had to get creative…. “We’ve had enough,” USWNT star Megan Rapinoe told the New York Times. “Our hand has been forced.”
There’s little doubt but that US Soccer, the sport’s governing body in this country, seems content with a inequitable system that elevates the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) over the women’s team (USWNT). Though USMNT hasn’t experienced anywhere near the success (or made nearly as much money) as USWNT, the men enjoy continue enjoying preferential treatment. They’re better compensated than the women, and the conditions they work under are far superior.
USMNT would never be expected to play a competitive match on an artificial surface. Yet last year’s Women’s World Cup was played almost exclusively on fake grass. Granted, that’s a FIFA issue, but US Soccer went along for the ride, registering no complaint on behalf of USWNT. Even after the consistent success of USWNT, including last year’s World Cup title, the women are still subjected to pay and playing conditions which don’t begin to measure up to that afforded USMNT. What I find difficult to understand is why US Soccer refuses to recognize the problem?
US Soccer’s indifferent treatment of USWNT is reflective of American professional soccer’s very UNprofessional regard for the women’s game. For instance, would a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise ever accept something as substandard and unprofessional as what happened at a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) game this past weekend?
@mPinoe @Nswl @JeffPlush so unacceptable though, seriously.
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) July 10, 2016
Tonight’s match between the Western New York Flash and Seattle Reign took place on a ridiculously-configured pitch at the home of the AAA Rochester Red Wings due to a previously-scheduled concert by TLC at the Flash’s home stadium.
Both teams play in the NWSL, the top-division league for women’s soccer in the United States; indeed, both teams feature several players from the U.S. women’s national team. The pitch, according to SI, was 100x58; that’s barely bigger than an NFL gridiron.
It was reminiscent of the old North American Soccer League (NASL) from the ’70s, a professional soccer league cum traveling carnival which flew by the seat of its pants before eventually running out of parlor tricks and expiring. Professionalism, in NASL terms, was a fungible concept open to interpretation, which would never have been tolerated in any reputable European league.
That anyone in NWSL could even begin to thinking that forcing two teams to play on a miniature field shoehorned into a baseball stadium is at best bush league and at worst a slap in the face to the players forced to labor in such substandard conditions. It’s unlikely MLS would have forced any of its teams to play in similar circumstances.
The NWSL President issued an abject apology…but the fact that apology was even necessary is indicative of the dismissive manner in which US Soccer continues to treat USWNT.
When the U.S. Men’s National Team plays in Los Angeles, they fly business class. When they land, they head to the Langham, a luxury hotel in Pasadena, where the cheapest room was recently priced at $249 and suites can cost more than $1,000.
When the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team plays in Los Angeles, they fly coach. Upon landing, they head to the Belamar in Manhattan Beach, where the swankiest room costs about as much as the cheapest room at the Langham.
The men have never won a World Cup. The women are the reigning champs.
These inequities aren’t limited to travel. According to the 2015 audited financial statements of U.S. Soccer, expenses for the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2015 were over $31.1 million; the U.S. Women’s National Team cost the organization just over $10.3 million. Last year, the head coach for the men’s team earned a salary of $3.2 million; the head coach for the women’s team made a whopping $185,000. (This year, her salary was generously raised to $250,000.)
Not surprisingly, US Soccer is heavily involved in NWSL- not surprising given the bush league manner in which the league is run. The league plays much of its schedule minus players called up to various national teams. Our local Portland Thorns, as an example, played Kansas City at home this past weekend minus SEVEN starters- five Americans, one Frenchwoman, and a Canadian- on national team duty. Not surprisingly, they lost. The same thing happened last summer, with several of the same players missing more games with their club than they actually played in.
Despite the absences, the NWSL soldiers on, expecting people to pay full price for watching what in some cases (e.g.- the Thorns) are clubs playing what amounts to their reserve side in place of their regulars. It’s deceptive, and it upsets the league’s competitive balance. Last year, Portland missed out on the NWSL playoffs, primarily because they lost more of their roster to national team call-ups that any other NWSL side. They simply couldn’t compete with teams not as deeply impacted by national team call-ups.
At this point, USWNT is rightly disgruntled by the disparity in pay, but almost more than that, it’s about respect…more specifically, the lack of it afforded USWNT vis-a-vis USMNT. It’s time to demand that US Soccer remove its collective anterior from its posterior and make things right…or they might just end up facing a team unwilling to continue playing until some semblance of equity is in place.
