After a week of intense scrutiny, US Soccer Federation (USSF) president Carlos Cordeiro has announced his resignation. USSF vice president, Cindy Parlow Cone, will replace him.
Cordeiro stepped down Thursday amid the public turmoil of a lawsuit by the National Women’s Team, requiring equal pay. The USSF attorneys have asked the court to dismiss the case in which the women’s team was seeking USD 67 million.
According to the leaked court documents, argued that female athletes have fewer responsibilities than their male counterparts. USSF also noted that the job of a men’s national team player requires ”more strength and speed” that the role of his female colleague.
Furthermore, the US Soccer attorney emphasized it was not a ”sexist stereotype” to admit the different levels of speed and physical strength required for the two roles. The filing also said it was ”indisputable science” that explains why men are stronger and have the greater physical ability to compete at the professional level than the women do at theirs.
The federation’s lawyers argued that equal pay laws apply to jobs that require equal skills, and not to employees that possess equal skills. They also highlighted that women could earn more than their male counterparts as it is required to pay a USD 100,000 annual salary to the contracted players of the female team each year.
In contrast, male players are not entitled to a salary form the USSF, the lawyers noted, adding that men are paid when they are called up to play for the team.
Before the beginning oof Wednesday’s match at the SheBelieves Cup in Texas, the US female soccer team listened the National Anthem with their uniforms inside out – to hide the USSF logo as a protest against the controversial court filings’ language.
In an emotional post-game interview, captain Megan Rapinoe said named the USSF’s arguments against equal pay ” disappointing.”
She addressed all the younger fans who watch her team, saying that girls are not lesser just because they are girls, and boys are not better just because they are boys.
On Thursday, Cordeiro apologized for the language used by the soccer team, stating that it did not reflect the values of the federation and its admiration of the US Women’s National Team. The now-former president also noted he took full responsibility for not properly reviewing the court filing.
In conclusion, Cordeiro admitted that our Women’s National Team deserved better.
What do you think? Do you support or oppose the idea of equal pay in US soccer?