{"id":25152,"date":"2019-07-09T14:08:34","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T19:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=25152"},"modified":"2019-07-10T19:25:35","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T00:25:35","slug":"u-s-womens-team-win-fourth-cup-next-opponent-equal-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2019\/07\/09\/u-s-womens-team-win-fourth-cup-next-opponent-equal-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Women\u2019s Team Win Fourth Cup, Next Opponent: Equal Pay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s no easy way to express how utterly paramount the Women\u2019s U.S. National Team win in the World Cup is. In a tournament that has only existed since 1991, the women\u2019s team has taken home their 4th championship and 8th time placing in the top three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For comparison, on the men\u2019s side, Brazil, who has the most World Cup wins of any other national team only has five World Cup victories, and has placed nine times. I’d also like to point out that the men have been playing since 1930. In other words, the women’s team has had sixty less years to achieve their victories. Not to take anything away from Brazil\u2019s men\u2019s teams over the years, I just feel that this is a point that must be expressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the Women\u2019s National Team has been arguably more dominant than the most dominant team in the entire men\u2019s league. There is, inherently, a problem with that, especially when you consider that the women\u2019s team doesn\u2019t make nearly as much as the men\u2019s team, a definable instance of the wage gap in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\tIt\u2019s worth noting that the men\u2019s U.S. soccer team hasn\u2019t won a single World Cup victory. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong, I don\u2019t mean that as an insult to the men\u2019s teams over the years, but I bring it up to illustrate a point that was echoed through the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in France shortly after the women\u2019s team beat Netherlands 2-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left: Alex Morgan of team USA and Jackie Groenen of Netherlands (Source: YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\tThe stadium, according to Twitter posts and videos, echoed with the phrase: \u201cEqual Pay!\u201d You see, the women\u2019s team makes roughly a quarter of what the men\u2019s team does. According to a Guardian breakdown of the contracts and bonuses, the average male player could make $1.1 million, whereas their female counterparts top out at roughly $260,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, despite the fact that, from 2016 to 2018 the women\u2019s game brought in $50.8 million, whereas the men\u2019s game brought in $49.9 million. It\u2019s also worth noting that the most watched soccer game in United States history belongs to the 2015 World Cup final, in which the women\u2019s team defeated Japan 5-2. The game garnered 25.4 million viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Megan Rapinoe of the U.S. Women’s National Team (Source: YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\tThe women\u2019s team accomplished all of this despite their controversies. Megan Rapinoe, who scored the first goal in the championship match on a penalty kick, drew criticism from the President earlier in the tournament for saying that she wouldn\u2019t go to the White House should they win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\tTrump fired back in a series of tweets saying: \u201cMegan should win before she talks! Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team.\u201d He later went on to say that he would invite the team whether they won or lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though, despite Rapinoe and the team winning, in a video interview, the President said, answering whether the team would be invited, \u201cWe haven\u2019t really thought about it. We will look into that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\tRapinoe, who is no stranger to standing up for her beliefs responded to her and her teammates\u2019 willingness to take on more than just other teams, saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\t\u201cWe say what we feel. All of us really, I know that my voice sometimes is louder, but in meal rooms, in conversations, everybody is in this together. We are such a proud and strong and defiant group of women.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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