US women’s soccer team appeals equal pay lawsuit decision

The players of the US women’s national soccer team filed an opening brief in the appeal to overturn a 2020 decision against their equal-pay lawsuit, saying last year’s decision to dismiss it was based on flawed legal reasoning and “defies reality.” 

The brief, filed on Friday with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asks that the decision be reversed and the case is sent back to the district court to be heard by a jury. 

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In May 2020, Judge Gary Klausner ruled there was no basis to prove claims that the US Soccer Federation (USSF) financially discriminated against women based on their gender. Klausner said that the women played more games and made more money than the male players and had rejected a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) where they would have the same pay structure as the men’s team in favor of a different CBA.

The female players denied that they has been offered the same CBA as the men’s team. The 28 current and former players said in the statement that the district court’s 2020 decision was “legally wrong.” the players added that Klausner’s decision was “based on a flawed analysis of the team’s compensation, despite the abundant evidence of unequal pay.”

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Player spokesperson Molly Levinson said, “If a woman has to work more than a man and be much more successful than him to earn about the same pay, that is decidedly not equal pay and it violates the law.” She added that the women players play more games and achieve better results in order to be paid about the same amount as the men players get per game. By that measure, there is not equal pay and it violates federal law. 

The USSF responded to the appeal via tweet and said the 2020 ruling “correctly held that the Women’s National Team was paid more both cumulatively and on an average per-game basis than the Men’s National Team.”

The players reached a settlement with USSF in December 2020 on their Title VII claims ensuring they received equal working conditions, such as equal flights benefits, trainers, and hotel accommodations.