Women make a statement
Soccer team protests pay inequality before the game, then wins SheBelieves Cup.
UNITED STATES 3 JAPAN 1
FRISCO, Texas — The increasingly bitter dispute between American women’s national soccer team and the U.S. Soccer Federation spilled onto the field Wednesday night when players wore their warm-up jerseys inside out in an apparent protest before their 3-1 victory over Japan.
Players filed a gender discrimination suit against the USSF last year, a case scheduled for trial starting May 5 in federal court in Los Angeles. The USSF submitted legal papers this week claiming that the women are less skilled and have less-demanding roles than the men on its national team.
By wearing their jerseys inside out, players hid the USSF crest on the jerseys but allowed the four stars — one for each World Cup title — to be visible.
The victory gave the U.S. the title in the SheBelieves Cup, a prep tournament for this year’s Olympics. Late in the second half, USSF President Carlos Cordeiro issued an apology and announced a shakeup to the federation’s legal team.
“On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologize for the offense and pain caused by language in this week’s court filing, which did not reflect the values of our federation or our tremendous admiration of our women’s national team,” Cordeiro said in a statement.
Megan Rapinoe, Christen Press and Lindsey Horan scored for the U.S., which extended its unbeaten streak to 31 matches.