Before their SheBelieves Cup match against Japan, the United States Women’s National Team made it loud and clear who they’re playing for.
Hint: It isn’t the United States Soccer Federation.
The defending World Cup champions took the field Wednesday with their warmup jerseys turned inside out, hiding the U.S. Soccer crest, in response to sexist comments made by the USSF in their on-going lawsuit.
The USWNT has taken the field with their warm up jerseys inside out, hiding the US Soccer crest.
This is in response to the latest legal filings by the US Soccer Federation in the gender discrimination lawsuit filed by 28 US players. (@espnW) pic.twitter.com/BTZgYeeNMD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 12, 2020
In court filings from March 9, the USSF made the claim that women soccer players are less skilled than their male counterparts, trying to justify why the USWNT doesn’t deserve equal pay. It also said that men have more demands and encounter more hostility, therefore have more responsibility.
Meanwhile, the women’s games generated about $900,000 more than men’s games from 2016-18, according to The Washington Post. The people paying to attend World Cup games literally chanted “equal pay” to protest the gender inequality imposed by the USSF after the USWNT earned their forth world title.
Those are the fans the USWNT suit up for. And though the jersey’s were turned inside out, hiding the screen printing of the U.S. soccer logo, the four stars embroidered to represent their World Cup victories were very, very visible.
