Hope Solo attacks USWNT’s ‘heartbreaking and infuriating’ equal pay settlement

Former USA goalkeeper Hope Solo said on Wednesday the women’s national team’s $24m settlement with US Soccer over an equal pay lawsuit was not the huge win it was being trumpeted as but rather “heartbreaking and infuriating”.

“Read the fine print. ‘Contingent upon the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement’,” Solo wrote on Twitter. “It doesn’t exist yet and is not guaranteed.

This settlement is not a “huge win.” It’s heartbreaking and infuriating. A “promise” of equal pay from the Federation and backpay for a select group of players isn’t equal pay and it’s not what this fight was about.

“If the players had ever been successful in negotiating an equal CBA, there would’ve been no reason to sue the federation in the first place.”

US Soccer also committed to providing an equal rate of pay for the women’s and men’s national teams in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup.

But Solo, who helped USA win two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup during her career, said a promise of equal pay and “backpay for a select group of players” was not equal pay nor what the fight was about.

“This settlement is not a ‘huge win.’ It’s heartbreaking and infuriating,” wrote Solo.

Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the USWNT players, did not immediately reply when asked by Reuters to comment on Solo’s remarks.

The USWNT sued US Soccer in 2019 seeking $66m in damages under the Equal Pay Act over allegations of gender discrimination in compensation and nearly every other aspect of their playing conditions.

Prior to that, in 2016, Solo was among five top players from the USWNT who filed a federal wage discrimination complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying they were paid less than male players