The US soccer team has claimed that the women’s national team does not deserve to be paid the same as their male counterparts because men are more skilled.
The arguments were made in a court filing on March 9, 2020, as part of a lawsuit that was filed by the United States Women’s National Team.
The lawsuit was filed against the US Soccer Federation over unequal pay between the men’s and women’s teams.
The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) is asking for $67 million USD in back pay to make up for what they claim is US Soccer’s violation of the Equal Pay Act.
According to reports, the women’s team games have generated more revenue than the men’s games since the year 2015.
FIFA currently pays men more money in the World Cup despite the fact that the men’s team of the USA has not qualified for the World Cup since 2014.
The women’s team of the country argued that the US Soccer should not pay them less because of FIFA’s prize structure.
The filing was made by the US Soccer in an attempt to prove it has not discriminated against the World Cup Champion Team by paying differently based on gender.
Court documents showed lawyers for the USWNT’s employer argued that under the Equal Pay Act, the “job of a [men’s national team player] carries more responsibility within US Soccer than the job of a [women’s national team] player.”
The organization also made reference to biological differences and indisputable science in its argument, claiming women should earn less because their job does not require as much skill as the male players.
Layers are also said to have grilled star players from the women’s team as part of the lawsuit.
Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan, the star players of the women’s team, were questioned over the fact that they were not as strong or fast as players that are on the men’s team.
A lawyer for the US Soccer asked Lloyd if she thought the team could be competitive against the senior men’s national team, to which she replied to: “I’m not sure. Shall we fight it out to see who wins and then we get paid more?”
When asked if it requires more skill to play for the men’s team or the women’s team, Morgan replied: “No. It’s a different skill.”
The organization has also claimed that the men’s team has a more demanding job because they face hostile fans during game time.
Carlos Cordeiro, the President for US Soccer, addressed the lawsuit in a letter that was released online this week.
The organization claimed that they had offered an equal pay structure with the men’s national team, which the women team rejected.
President Carlos said, “As a non-profit, member-based organization, U.S. Soccer has obligations to all of our members… and we have a responsibility to help all of our members grow.”
The president added, “There is indeed a significant difference in World Cup prize money awarded by FIFA to the men’s and women’s championship teams. However, it is not reasonable or fiscally sound for U.S. Soccer to make up the gap. It would seriously impair our ability to support our mission and invest in these other critical developmental areas.”
The USWNT lawyers argued the equal pay offer, which was based on a contract the men’s team had negotiated 9 years ago.
A trial for the lawsuit is scheduled to begin on May 5 at US District Court in Los Angeles.