U.S. Soccer Federation makes offensive arguments in recent court filing

In the ongoing battle between the USWNT and the U.S. Soccer Federation over equal pay, the federation’s latest court filing had more than a few insulting remarks directed at the women’s team.

As the USWNT took the field for warm-ups on Wednesday night against Japan in the final match of the SheBelieves Cup, they wore their shirts inside out to cover up the U.S. Soccer crest while still displaying their 4 stars indicating their 4 World Cup titles. This was a peaceful protest in response to the U.S. Soccer Federation’s latest court filing in the ongoing dispute over equal pay.

The USWNT is an inspiration to young girls and women all over the nation and beyond. They’re a symbol of strength and power, they bring crowds to their feet with pride for their nation, and they have an undeniable talent that is rarely matched by opponents.

They continue to rack up World Cup titles and Olympic Gold medals. They work hard to be the best they can possibly be, and they compete just as hard in practice as they do in games.

And when a dejected nation watched the USMNT fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the USWNT soared to victory the following year winning the 2019 World Cup.

And yet the U.S. Soccer Federation had the gall to make offensive arguments in their latest court filing, claiming

"…the job of MNT player…requires a higher level of skill based on speed and strength than does the job of WNT player…"

This was followed up by the comment that

"…the job of MNT player carries more responsibility within U.S. Soccer than the job of WNT player."

These remarks are not only outrageous, they’re sexist and hurtful to a team of remarkable women that continue to have extraordinary success despite the U.S. Soccer Federation’s relative lack of willingness to invest in them properly. And with the men’s recent history of uninspiring play on the world stage, the women have had to carry the torch for U.S. Soccer giving the fans more than enough to cheer about and be proud of.

During the middle of the game against Japan, a statement was released by U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro, reading

"On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologize for the offense and pain caused by language in this week’s court filing, which did not reflect the values of our Federation or our tremendous admiration of our Women’s National Team."

His apology is too little too late. And frankly, if Cordeiro doesn’t support the language that was used, it’s embarrassing that he didn’t have enough control over the situation to prevent those arguments from making it into the court filing.

The bottom line is the U.S. Soccer Federation must do better. If a resolution is not met, the case will go to trial on May 5.