US Women's Soccer Players Have Another Goal in Sight: Equal Pay

POPSUGAR: I know you can't go into details on the current lawsuit, but it was cool that it was filed on International Women's Day. Did that have a special resonance for you?
Christen Press (pictured above): Definitely. I think that we are all very proud on this team of our fight for women — largely women in sport but women all over. And so there was a little bit of synchro-destiny there with the lawsuit timing. This is part of our legacy in our life. But at the same time, we don't want to be in this situation. We want to actually just be resourced and have the opportunity to be excellent athletes. In that way, it's not fun. In a moment like this, you're kind of like, "Wow, we've been working for so hard, for so long." And it's just this realisation with LUNA Bar [that] other people are working and fighting. We're all coming together, and it actually takes something that's really not cool, which is gender inequality, and makes it a really cool and special moment where people are coming together, female and male. It's so much bigger than sport, and it's so much bigger than just our team.

PS: Equal pay is something that women across all industries and all fields have to deal with. What is something you've learned that they can take to the table when it comes to advocating for themselves and each other?
Alex Morgan: We're trying to rally for women to stand up for themselves in this fight. And I think the most important thing is continuing to raise awareness for the gender inequalities among all industries and helping women know that they have support in us. I'm so happy to have a group of 25 women to fight alongside and to feel completely 100 percent united.
Megan Rapinoe: Obviously, not all women in their profession have a full team of 20. Usually, it's just one or two. Especially the higher you move up, likely, it's just going to be one. My advice would be to seek that [information] out, because I think what they, whoever "they" is you're negotiating with, they want you to be siloed. They want you to not have all the information or to only be operating by yourself. That puts you in a much weaker position. Whether it's information online or seeking out other women or companies like The Wing, I just think it's really important to find that community and gain strength in that community.

PS: Growing up as a girl, you kind of have this vague sense of inequality, but there are usually those moments where it comes into stark relief. I'm sure you had an awareness that there was this gender inequality in between the men's and women's teams, but was there a moment where it really hit you, or you thought "This is actually something that we need to work to rectify?"
CP: For me, it was a lot of really small moments over time. The more I learned about our movement in women in sports, specifically with the US Women's National Team, the more I was frustrated. It felt like something just gently pulling the back of my jersey . . . just holding us back every step that we took. The more you know, the more you feel that pull. And then the more you see the potential that you have, [the more] you want to run and get it.
MR: Coming on the team is such an interesting process as a young player, because you're just here, and you're excited, and you just want to play! And then you start to realise, "What's this CBA, and what's collective bargaining?" and then you have to negotiate. It's sort of this long, slow education all along, and the more you know, the more frustrated you are, and the more you see, you can't unsee. It's not all the time we're being punched in the face, but it's these little subtleties that add up. It was death by a thousand paper cuts. I think the World Cup for us was a really confronting time, because obviously, we had so much fanfare, and our game was the most-watched soccer game in the US, and we just didn't see that equally supported in our paychecks or in compensation. Being there, and feeling the support, and seeing how many people came to the games, you kind of just feel that groundswell. And then to have that really not represented in so many other aspects, I think that's when we're like, "Enough. We're done."
AM (pictured above): I think two examples that come up continually that increase my frustrations are one, when I'm speaking with someone that's not familiar on women's soccer, and they ask what I do, and I tell them, "I'm an athlete," and they ask, "OK. But what's your day job?" [or] "Well, OK, you're a professional athlete, but what are you doing after that? What's your next career?" Like that's supposed to be on the top of my mind, not what I'm actually doing right now. I'm like, "Why can't I be a professional athlete and badass and love my job and be respected completely and fully?"
MR: I think once we really started to see the difference between the personal sponsorships that we were getting and then how that relates to our contracts, we're like, "Wait a second." The appetite is definitely here, and the market is there.