LOS ANGELES, CA — Dozens of U.S. women’s soccer players sued the U.S. Soccer Federation Friday in Los Angeles, alleging gender discrimination.
The complaint seeks to represent women’s soccer players as a class action suit. It includes some of the biggest names in women’s soccer, and it alleges “institutionalized gender discrimination,” including violations of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The complaint is the latest salvo in the players’ long-standing bid for equality. A dominant powerhouse especially in comparison to a U.S men’s team that has never been dominant, U.S. women lag far behind the men in terms of compensation.
The 28 plaintiffs include stars such as Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan and reserve players. They are seeking equitable pay, wage adjustments, back pay and special damages for lost compensation.
“I think to be on this team is to understand these issues,” Rapinoe told the New York Times. “And I think we’ve always — dating back to forever — been a team that stood up for itself and fought hard for what it felt it deserved and tried to leave the game in a better place.”
For the players, it’s not just about pay parity. The disequity also affects resources, training, equipment and overall working conditions, they say. The suit was filed on International Women’s Day.
A representative of U.S. Soccer did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the lawsuit, which comes three months before the plaintiffs’ team will defend its title at the Women’s World Cup in France.
According to the 24-page complaint, USSF has “utterly failed to promote gender equality. It has stubbornly refused to treat its female employees who are members of the WNT equally to its male employees who are members of the (men’s national team).”
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City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.