Equal Pay in American soccer has continued to be an endless debate especially during President Donald Trump‘s administration in the United States of America. It is believed that the outgoing American president does not like the idea of female soccer players earning equal pay as their male counterparts.
To ensured that the dichotomy that exists between the money the male and female soccer stars earn in the US is addressed, the US women’s national team dragged the issue to court after the 2019 women FIFA World Cup. The 28 female soccer stars who were members of the 2019 women’s World Cup-winning team want the US government to pay the women 66 million in damages under the Equal Pay Act.
Unfortunately for the World Cup-winning team, the court ruled against their demand which means that they will have to continue their fight for Equal Pay in USA Soccer.
Hence, the case has been taken to the appeal court with the hope that the court would rule in favor of equal pay for both male and female soccer players in the US.
The debate for and against equal pay is believed to be the major reason why most female soccer players campaigned against Donald Trump in the just concluded presidential election in the USA. Joe Biden who won November 3, 2020, presidential contest is seen as a politician on the side of the women and could implement the equal pay the female soccer stars have been clamoring for.
But for now, the goalkeeper of the USA women national team, Hope Solo believes that the government is the stumbling block to the actualization of the equal pay the female soccer players want.
The USA women soccer team is the most successful female soccer team in the world. They have won the World Cup 4 times and the Olympic Gold 5 times, a feat their male counterparts can only dream of. Yet, the males get bigger pay than the women, a trend Hope Solo wants fellow soccer stars to stand up against by making “sacrifices”.
“Anybody can speak on the microphone or wear a shirt or tweet something out, but how do you get things done? We have to stand up together and be strong together and make sacrifices and that hasn’t been done yet”, Solo told The Players podcast.
“I believe that sacrifice has to be made and work has to be put in and when I say work I mean legal documents, meeting with politicians, Congress, and the US Senate,” added Solo.
“I’m not just talking about it anymore – I’m tired of talking about it…
“A question we must all ask ourselves is whether there is a line that you will not cross to stand up for what you believe in.
“You want to motivate and inspire people and sometimes that may take us across that line of comfort…
“People in power don’t want to give women equal pay. We have to fight for it.”
As it stands, the women can only hope that the ruling of the appeal court favors them or the US Soccer Federation decides to implement the equal pay the female soccer stars are asking for. Unfortunately for the women, the court nor the soccer federation might not do much in their favor.
Hence, their hope of enjoying equal pay with their male counterparts lies in the hands of the incoming 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, who has been quoted to be in support of equal pay before the 2020 presidential election.
