Megan Rapinoe dismisses US Soccer apology over arguments in equal pay case: 'That crossed a line'

Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the USA Women's squad hid the USSF logo on their warm-up shirts on Tuesday night
Getty Images
George Flood12 March 2020

USA Women's football star Megan Rapinoe has dismissed an apology from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) after arguments made in court documents that have sparked outrage.

28 players from the USA Women's national team are currently engaged in a bitter dispute with the governing body over equal pay, beginning legal action last year. A trial is currently scheduled for May 5 in federal court in Los Angeles.

The reigning world champions clinched the SheBelieves Cup title on home soil with a 3-1 win over Japan in Texas on Wednesday night, before which players protested by wearing their warm-up shirts inside out and hiding the USSF logo while allowing the stars symbolising their four World Cup triumphs to be shown.

The protest - which encompassed the national anthems and official team photo - came after court documents filed this week in which the USSF said the women claimed their ability level is the same as the men "by ignoring the materially higher level of speed and strength required to perform the job of an MNT player".

A subsequent apology on behalf of the federation from president Carlos Cordeiro read: "On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologise for the offence and pain caused by language in this week's court filing, which did not reflect the values of our Federation or our tremendous admiration of our women's national team.

US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro apologised on behalf of the federation for comments made in a court filing 
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"Our WNT players are incredibly talented and work tirelessly, as they have demonstrated time and again from their Olympic gold medals to their World Cup titles."

However, Rapinoe gave that apology short shrift after the win over Japan.

"That [statement] wasn't for us. That was for fans, for the media, for sponsors, because that all sounded pretty similar to what we've heard before," the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner said, as quoted by the BBC.

"You want to talk about hostility? Every negotiation we've had, those undertones are in there, that we're lesser - every mediation that we had, every time we meet with them and obviously the reason that we filed this lawsuit.

"So for him to put that out saying sorry presumably to us, we don't buy it."

She added: "Is that truly how they feel about 50% of the population that they are supposed to be stewarding into the game of soccer?

"I don't think anyone wants to sponsor an organisation that is being blatantly misogynistic and sexist.

"I know that we're in a contentious fight but that crossed a line completely."

Coca-Cola, a long-term partner with the USSF as well as a global sponsor of the World Cup since 1974, had called the federation's assertion in documents filed earlier this week "unacceptable and offensive."

"We have asked to meet with them immediately to express our concerns. The Coca-Cola Co. is firm in its commitment to gender equality, fairness and women's empowerment in the United States and around the world and we expect the same from our partners," Coca-Cola said in a statement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

The US team turned their warm-up shirts inside out before the match against Japan in Frisco, Texas
USA TODAY Sports

Molly Levinson, spokeswoman for the players in the lawsuit, said "this 'argument' belongs in the Paleolithic Era."

"It sounds as if it has been made by a caveman," she said in a statement. "Literally everyone in the world understands that an argument that male players 'have more responsibility' is just plain simple sexism and illustrates the very gender discrimination that caused us to file this lawsuit to begin with."

In addition to apologising, Cordeiro said the USSF had retained the law firm of Latham & Watkins, the firm where former USSF president Alan Rothenberg is a retired partner. Seyfarth Shaw had been representing the federation.

"I have made it clear to our legal team that even as we debate facts and figures in the course of this case, we must do so with the utmost respect not only for our women's national team players but for all female athletes around the world," Cordeiro said.

Players filed the gender discrimination lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles last year, claiming they are paid less than their counterparts on the men's national team.

The USA won the SheBelieves Cup on home soil with victory over Japan
USA TODAY Sports

The women are seeking more than $66million in damages under the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Both sides have moved for summary judgments, asking US District Judge R. Gary Klausner to decide in their favour without a trial.

The USSF says disparities in pay between the men and women are the result of separate collective bargaining agreements with different terms. The women's team receives salaries and benefits the men don't.

In addition, the USSF cites Fifa's World Cup prize money — $38m awarded to the French Football Federation for the men's title in 2018 and $4m to the USSF for last year's women's title.

The USSF claims it bases bonuses for the women in the tournament on the prize money the federation receives.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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