Hope Solo to object to U.S. Soccer equal pay deal
By Ben Reiter
4 March 2010
The proposed compensation of $75,000 to US women’s national team coach and U.S. Soccer Federation president Chuck Blazer could be considered a violation of US labor laws and a threat to the very workers who are fighting so hard to secure a fair deal for members of its women’s national team.
The potential award of $75,000 to Blazer raises the specter of a pay-for-play situation in a sport that has so far refused to address the issue of pay.
In a recent Wall Street Journal report, it was suggested that soccer is experiencing its first gender pay gap. Soccer’s pay problems are being exacerbated by a combination of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s self-imposed, two-tiered, low-pay system and the widespread belief that the USWNT is taking pay and contract flexibility for granted while its male counterparts continue to be awarded large sums.
While the USWNT has taken a series of steps toward reducing its gender pay gap, including hiring gender equity consultant Linda Sapien or taking over a program to help ensure equality in pay for women in professional soccer, there is a widespread belief that pay is the most significant obstacle to bringing about a true pay equality for women in the men’s game. It is no surprise that US men’s national team coach Tom Sermanni was so adamant over the weekend when he said “there’s no reason not to raise the US women’s and men’s salaries to $100,000, and I think that is probably within reach.”
Blazer, who was hired in July 2008 following a three year stint as the head coach of the Dutch national team, is the first woman in US soccer history to hold the position of head of program. As head coach, he has the capacity to control the USWNT’s pay and work environment, which includes a large amount of discretionary spending on players and coaches.
The USWNT has a long and complicated history of trying to balance the conflicting demands of players and agents. It