U.S. Soccer issues apology for arguments in equal-pay case

The U.S. Soccer Federation apologized Wednesday night after it contended in court documents that women on its national team had lesser responsibilities and physical abilities than their male counterparts.

The statement from USSF President Carlos Cordeiro came hours after The Coca-Cola Co. denounced the federation for its stance. Cordeiro also announced a shake-up of the USSF 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,” the statement said. “Our WNT players are incredibly talented and work tirelessly, as they have demonstrated time and again from their Olympic gold medals to their World Cup titles.”

American players wore their warmup jerseys inside out for the national anthems and team photo before a 3-1 win over Japan in an Olympic prep match. Players hid the USSF crest on the jerseys but allowed the four stars — one for each World Cup title — to be visible.

“I think it just was a powerful message,” said forward Carli Lloyd, a two-time FIFA Player of the Year.

The players issued a group statement that was released by Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the players in their lawsuit: “We wanted to stand together as a team and make a statement on behalf of all women and girls that the federation‘s comments are unacceptable. We love this sport and this country, and we cannot stand for this misogynistic treatment.”

Coca-Cola had called the federation’s assertion in documents filed this week “unacceptable and offensive.“