- The US Women’s National Team maintained hope following a federal judge’s ruling that dismissed their unequal pay lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation.
- US District Judge R. Gary Klausner threw out the lawsuit on Friday, but allowed their claim on discriminatory travel and medical allocations to head to trial in mid-June.
- Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the USWNT, later tweeted that the team was “shocked and disappointed” with the decision, adding that they “will not give up our hard work for equal pay.”
- Team captains Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan expressed their optimism on Twitter in spite of the ruling.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The US Women’s National Team shared a hopeful message following a federal judge dismissing the team’s lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation arguing unequal pay.
US District Judge R. Gary Klausner threw out the lawsuit on Friday but allowed their claim on discriminatory travel and medical allocations to proceed. The latter is set to go to trial in mid-June.
“The history of negotiations between the parties demonstrates that the WNT rejected an offer to be paid under the same pay-to-play structure as the MNT,” Klausner wrote in a 32-page decision, “and the WNT was willing to forgo higher bonuses for benefits, such as greater base compensation and the guarantee of a higher number of contracted players.”
Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the USWNT, later tweeted that the team was “shocked and disappointed” with the decision, adding that they “will not give up our hard work for equal pay.”
"We are confident in our case and steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that girls and women who play this sport will not be valued as lesser just because of their gender," she wrote.
"We have learned that there are tremendous obstacles to change; we know that it takes bravery and courage and perseverance to stand up to them," Levinson wrote in a follow-up tweet. "We will appeal and press on."
The women's players hope to overturn Klausner's ruling to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which would, in turn, delay the trial, the Associated Press reported.
USWNT players echoed Levinson's hopeful remarks, saying they will "continue on in the fight for equal pay."
We will continue on in the fight for equal pay. https://t.co/GmI16NssIh
— Christen Press (@ChristenPress) May 1, 2020
This team never gives up and we’re not going to start now. #USWNT 💪🏽 https://t.co/gEFVOv7P1i
— Tobin Heath (@TobinHeath) May 1, 2020
Team captains Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan took to Twitter to express their optimism in spite of the ruling.
We will never stop fighting for EQUALITY.
— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) May 2, 2020
Although disappointing to hear this news, this will not discourage us in our fight for equality. https://t.co/s1VWfF2IG0
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) May 2, 2020