If you're counting down to the Olympic games in Rio, you might have to count out the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. The co-captain, Becky Sauerbrunn, told ESPN that her team is seriously weighing a boycott of the Olympic games if they don't get the same pay as their male counterparts.
"It would still be on the table," Sauerbrunn told ESPN on Wednesday morning. "We are reserving every right to do so and we're leaving every avenue open. If nothing has changed and we don't feel any progress had been made, then it's a conversation that we're gonna have."
Last month, Sauerbrunn — along with top players Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Hope Solo — filed a federal complaint, charging U.S. Soccer with wage discrimination. The complaint said, in part, that despite the U.S. women's national soccer team's status as reigning World Cup and Olympic champions, they're still getting paid significantly less than their male counterparts.
“The outcome, I hope, is equal pay for equal play,” Sauerbrunn concluded in her interview with ESPN. “I think, compensation-wise and respect-wise, that’s what I’m really hoping comes out of this complaint. I hope that it puts enough pressure on the federation, to show them our worth and our value.”
You can watch the full interview below.
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