The U.S. women’s national soccer team (USWNT) pulled ahead of Iceland for a 5-0 win in the championship match of the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday; surprisingly, this was not their biggest victory of the week.
A group of players from the USWNT settled their class action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) on Tuesday, February 22.
The payout ultimately totaled $24 million, $22 million of which was awarded to individual players involved with the suit. The remaining $2 million will go towards philanthropic efforts to support female soccer players internationally, according to the L.A. Times.
The battle against discrimination in sports was highlighted in 2016 when five U.S. women’s soccer players filed a joint complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Three years later, 28 members of the USWNT filed a gender discrimination and unequal compensation lawsuit against the USSF. The suit has been an ongoing battle since then.
As this lawsuit unfolded, legal proceedings themselves were riddled with gender discrimination issues as well. Attorneys for the USSF asked American soccer stars Carli Loyd and Alex Morgan how they believed they’d perform if competing against a men’s national team, according to USA Today.
The next few years were filled with public relations campaigns, tense conversations and t-shirts reading “Shall We Fight It Out?” modeled after Loyd’s response to being compared to the German men’s national team.
In an interview with CBS News, USWNT player and activist Megan Rapinoe called the settlement “a huge win for us, for women’s sports, for women in general.”
But critics of the deal point out its shortcomings. Hope Solo, ex-goalie for the USWNT, called the settlement “heartbreaking and infuriating” via an Instagram post on Wednesday. “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,” said Solo.
Solo has her own ongoing equal-pay lawsuit against U.S. Soccer which she says she will continue fighting, as reported by Sports Illustrated.
As for the recent settlement, many gender equality advocates believe it is simply a step in the right direction.
“It is a moment we can all celebrate right now,” said Rapinoe. “Justice comes in the next generation never having to go through what we went through. It’s equal pay across the board from here on out.”
Only time will tell whether or not this lawsuit sets a precedent for female athletes of the future.