- Carli Lloyd says her skills “are a lot more efficient and a lot better than a lot of men’s players’.”
- In an interview on Sports Illustrated’s “Planet Fútbol with Grant Wahl” podcast, the USWNT star reflected on her snarky reply to US Soccer’s lawyers during her equal pay lawsuit deposition.
- When the federation’s attorneys asked the two-time FIFA Player of the Year whether her team could compete with the USMNT, Lloyd replied “Shall we fight it out to see who wins and then we get paid more?”
- The US Soccer Federation’s defense that unequal pay for women is fair because “men are bigger, stronger, faster” came under scrutiny by media, fans, and sponsors, and even prompted a protest from the USWNT.
- After USSF President Carlos Cordeiro resigned over the backlash, US Soccer officially walked back its argument that the USWNT is inferior in skill to the men’s national team.
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Carli Lloyd has never been bashful about her own abilities on the pitch, but her recent comments may still come as a surprise.
The US Women’s National Team star said that her soccer skills “are a lot more efficient and a lot better than a lot of men’s players’.”
Her comments came during an interview on Sports Illustrated’s “Planet Fútbol with Grant Wahl” podcast Monday morning. Wahl inquired about a particularly contentious – and noteworthy – portion of her equal pay lawsuit deposition with US Soccer’s lawyers, and the two-time FIFA Player of the Year used the moment to reflect on the federation’s widely-criticized previous stance that the USWNT is inferior in skill to the men’s national team.
"I don't want anyone to ever come into a room and tell me that I have less skills than men, because I think that my skills are a lot more efficient and a lot better than a lot of men's players," Lloyd said. "But I don't have the physical attribute and the speed and the strength that they're born with - none of us women do."
"There are some incredibly skillful women who play soccer and it was just disappointing to hear over and over again the argument of us not being as skilled as the men," she added.
During a heated exchange with US Soccer's attorneys in December - the filings from which became public February 20 - Lloyd was asked whether or not she thought the USWNT team could compete with their male counterparts.
"Shall we fight it out to see who wins and then we get paid more?" Lloyd quipped back.
The lawyers' line of questioning with Lloyd, which was a common theme among many of the USWNT players who participated in depositions, were meant to contribute to the federation's larger defense that unequal pay for women is fair because "men are bigger, stronger, faster." That argument came under scrutiny by media, fans, and sponsors, prompting a protest from the USWNT itself and eventually forcing former USSF President Carlos Cordeiro to resign over the backlash.
"I had to find some funny remarks just to kind of keep the mood light," Lloyd said to Wahl. "That's one of the one's that came out and went public."
Now under the leadership of former USWNT star Cindy Parlow Cone, US Soccer officially walked back its argument that Lloyd and her teammates are inferior in skill to the men's players on the US national team at the end of March. And while the federation's decision to walk back that argument certainly helps the organization further align with the women's national team, its far from a guarantee that the two sides will settle in their ongoing equal pay lawsuit.
"I think it goes in waves," USWNT players association president Becky Sauerbrunn said after the team's second 2020 SheBelieves Cup match. "Sometimes we thought we were closer, sometimes further, and sometimes when things that happen [and] you're like 'oh, we're a little bit further.'"
If the two sides do not reach a settlement, they'll take the ongoing battle to trial beginning May 5. And from the sounds of it, the team is not particularly keen on relenting on the equal pay front.
"For us, anything less than equal we couldn't settle for," Sauerbrunn said.
- Read more:
- US Soccer officially concedes its argument that women's national team is inferior in skill to the men's team in its equal pay lawsuit filings
- US Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro resigned over USWNT equal pay lawsuit backlash - but he's just a symptom of a larger problem
USWNT star Carli Lloyd will wait to retire and plans to compete in postponed Tokyo Olympics