Thread by @kelseybolar

Today for #EqualPayDay, the White House is hosting the US Women's Soccer team, which sued USSF in California federal court, seeking more than $66 million in damages for alleged wage discrimination and discriminatory working conditions. A 🧵on this lawsuit:

A federal court in Los Angeles ruled that the Soccer Federation did not engage in unlawful pay discrimination. They found sufficient evidence to allow the players to proceed w/claims of unequal travel, medical support, and other support services...

but found the core claims of pay discrimination completely empty. Why, you ask?

The Women’s National Team earned approximately $24 million overall; the Men’s National Team earned only $18 million. The average take per game was $220,747 for the women’s team, compared to $212,639 for the men’s team.

And while the individual female plaintiffs made an average of $11,356 to $17,416 per game, the four highest-paid male players made an average of $10,360 to $13,964 per game.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, the Women’s National Team and the Men’s National Team were paid according to separate collective bargaining agreements.

While the men bargained for and played under a high-risk, pay-to-play contract that only paid players when they took the field, the women bargained for and played under a lower risk contract with guaranteed salaries, benefits but smaller bonuses.

But last month, the U.S. Soccer Federation agreed to settle for $24 million and a promise to use the same bonus scale for all future male and female competitions.

As @J_Braceras wrote, "Although U.S. Soccer had the law on its side, it caved to Megan Rapinoe and her merry band of social justice warriors to avoid additional negative publicity."

iwf.org/2022/02/23/u-s…

Is it sincere ignorance or conscientious stupidity that the WH, Congress and media peddle this false narrative about unequal pay without acknowledging basic facts about the case—that the female players negotiated and agreed to different pay structures than men? No one knows! /END