And, Hope Solo is a part of this suit. If a man had been accused of domestic violence (along with a host of other off-the-field issues) he would have been run out of the sport.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/sports/article ... federationFive members of the U.S. women's national soccer team -- including Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan -- have filed on behalf of the entire team a wage-discrimination action against the U.S. Soccer Federation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The filing, citing figures from the USSF's 2015 financial report, says that despite the women's team generating nearly $20 million more revenue last year than the U.S. men's team, the women are paid almost four times less.
"Recently, it has become clear that the Federation has no intention of providing us equal pay for equal work," Megan Rapinoe said in a news release, after also attaching her name to the filing along with Becky Sauerbrunn.
The EEOC will conduct an investigation and determine if its findings warrant compensation to the U.S. women's team.
The action was filed by the law firm of Winston & Strawn and its co-chairman Jeffrey Kessler, who has represented numerous players' unions and athletes -- including Tom Brady and Ray Rice -- in disputes with professional leagues and organizations.
"In early January, the Women's National Team Players Association submitted a reasonable proposal for a new CBA that had equal pay for equal work as its guiding principle," Kessler said in the statement. "U.S. Soccer responded by suing the players in an effort to keep in place the discriminatory and unfair treatment they have endured for years."
The union representing the players is currently involved in a legal dispute with U.S. Soccer over the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. The federation filed a lawsuit this year seeking to clarify that its contract with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Players Association runs through the Rio Olympics until Dec. 31. The union maintains the memorandum of understanding agreed to in March 2013 can be terminated at any time.
U.S. Soccer, after issuing a statement saying it was "disappointed" that the action was taken, issued a second statement Thursday afternoon saying it is "committed to and engaged" in negotiating a new CBA "that addresses compensation with the U.S. women's national team "when the current CBA expires at the end of this year."
Kessler claimed that the state of the negotiations over the CBA created the need for the women to act in hopes of ending what they say is the "discriminatory and unfair treatment" they have endured for years.
Solo, appearing with Lloyd on NBC's "Today" on Thursday, said "not much has changed" during her time on the team.
"I've been on this team for a decade and a half, and I've been through numerous CBA negotiations, and honestly, not much has changed," Solo said. "We continue to be told we should be grateful just to have the opportunity to play professional soccer, to get paid for doing it.
"In this day and age, it's about equality. It's about equal rights. It's about equal pay. We're pushing for that. We believe now the time is right because we believe it's our responsibility for women's sports and specifically for women's soccer to do whatever it takes to push for equal pay and equal rights. And to be treated with respect."
U.S.. Soccer, citing its investment in the National Women's Soccer League, said it remains committed to the women's game.
