Women players suing the US Soccer Federation (USSF) said in in court documents filed on Tuesday that the federation has acknowledged that the jobs of male and female soccer players require equal skill.
The language seemed to signal a decrease in tension between the parties after language in documents filed by the federation’s lawyers earlier last month provoked widespread outrage in saying that playing on the men’s national team required a higher level of skill based on speed and strength and carried greater responsibility.
The fierce backlash — not only from the women players, but also from sponsors such as Coca-Cola — ultimately forced federation president Carlos Cordeiro to resign. He was replaced by vice president Cindy Parlow Cone, a former US international.
The federation brought in new legal counsel, which has focused in court filings on refuting the plaintiffs’ claims that it contravened the US Equal Pay Act and other anti-discrimination legislation.
“The parties have significantly narrowed the issues to be tried by way of discovery and briefing,” Tuesday’s filing from the players’ lawyers said. “The USSF no longer disputes that the jobs of the WNT [US women’s national team] and MNT [US men’s national team] players require equal skill, effort and responsibility — and therefore have necessarily conceded that they perform equal work.”
The documents filed by the federation outlining the case that they plan to make said that the female players had not identified comparable male counterparts under US law — which requires equal payment for men and women working “in the same establishment.”
“The undisputed facts show that the WNT and MNT are both geographically and operationally distinct,” the federation filing said. “The WNT and MNT play in different venues in different cities [and often different countries], and participate in separate competitions against completely different pools of opponents.”
The federation again stated that apparent pay discrepancies are due to a different pay structure negotiated by the women’s union.
The case is set to go to trial on May 5.
Last week, Parlow Cone told reporters that she would like to settle the case sooner.
“I don’t think a trial is good for either party or for soccer, both in this country or internationally,” she said. “Obviously our women’s team is the best team in the world and I am hopeful that we can find a resolution before this goes to trial.”
Tuesday’s filings also included potential witnesses for both sides. The lists included all four class representatives in the lawsuit: Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn.
Former US coach Jill Ellis, Cordeiro and another former federation president, Sunil Gulati, could also appear.
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