USWNT and U.S. Soccer Federation Agree to Mediation for Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
The U.S. Soccer Federation and 28 players on the U.S. women's national team have agreed to pursue mediation after the World Cup, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the federation on March 8 in a fight over pay equity and working conditions. Lawyers for the women reached out to U.S. Soccer after the World Cup began to see if they would agree to mediation talks.
The lawyers requested U.S. Soccer agree to mediation after the World Cup ends. If the federation didn't, the players' lawyers planned to ask the court to require the federation to participate in mediation, reports the Wall Street Journal.
"While we welcome the opportunity to mediate, we are disappointed the plaintiffs' counsel felt it necessary to share this news publicly during the Women's World Cup and create any possible distraction from the team’s focus on the tournament and success on the field," a U.S. Soccer spokesman told the outlet. "We look forward to everyone returning their focus to the efforts on the field as we aim to win another title."
Five USWNT players filed a pay discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer in March 2016. The group of 28 players sued the federation in March claiming it does not provide them with equal playing, traveling and training conditions and promotes their games less than the men's national soccer team.
U.S. Soccer has responded to the claims saying any pay differences are the result of separate collective bargaining agreements and based on differences in revenue generated by the teams.
Both sides met in Washington, D.C. on March 27 to discuss a possible settlement but nothing was resolved.
