Cindy Parlow Cone takes over as President of U.S. Soccer Federation

Cindy Parlow Cone, president of the US Soccer Federation. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Cindy Parlow Cone, president of the US Soccer Federation. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
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After the insulting remarks made in the recent US Soccer Federation court filing, Carlos Cordeiro has resigned from his role as President of the Federation and is replaced by Cindy Parlow Cone.

To say the remarks in the US Soccer Federation recent court filing sparked outrage is an understatement.

After celebrating on the field as SheBelieves Cup winners and adding to their long list of impressive accomplishments, many of the USWNT players including Christen Press took to social media to express their disappointment in the Federation and their continued drive to achieve the level of equality they’ve earned.

Others outside of the USWNT spoke up as well in support of the women including MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Volkswagen of America, and former USMNT player DaMarcus Beasley. The language in the court filing has only rallied supporters to stand with even more force behind the USWNT.

There was no way the US Soccer Federation could make such offensive comments and come out unscathed. Someone needed to take responsibility for the Federation’s behaviour. The mid-game apology letter from US Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro was not nearly enough.

As more and more people stepped up to criticize Cordeiro and the Federation, he made the decision to resign as President on Thursday night saying on Twitter,

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Though his resignation hardly makes up for the language in the court filing and the behavior of the Federation towards the USWNT, it did lead to a potentially positive situation in the promotion of Cindy Parlow Cone from Vice President to President of the US Soccer Federation, making her the Federation’s first female President.

The biggest benefit of having Cindy Parlow Cone in the driver’s seat? She understands what it’s like being a professional female soccer player at the highest level. She has her own World Cup title and Olympic Gold medals as a former member of the USWNT, and she followed up her playing career with a season as the head coach of the Portland Thorns in the NWSL.

Next. U.S. Soccer Federation's offensive court filing. dark

One can certainly hope that as the fight for equal pay continues, Cone will be more of an ally to the USWNT and a more understanding representative of the U.S. Soccer Federation.