GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 01: (Top L-R) Becky Sauerbrunn #4, Alex Morgan #13, Abby Wambach #14, Hope Solo #1, Lauren Cheney #12, Megan Rapinoe #15 (Bottom L-R) Heather Mitts #2, Amy LePeilbet #6, Shannon Boxx #7, Carli Lloyd #10 and Rachel Buehleer of USA pose for a team photo before the game against Ireland at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 1, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. USA defeated Ireland 2-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(AP) — Five players from the World Cup-winning U.S. national team have accused the U.S. Soccer Federation of wage discrimination in an action filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo maintain in the EEOC filing they were paid nearly four times less than their male counterparts on the U.S. men’s national team. The filing was announced in a press release on Thursday.
The union representing the players is currently involved in a legal dispute with U.S. Soccer over the validity of their collective bargaining agreement. The federation filed a lawsuit this year seeking to clarify that its contract with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association runs through the Rio Olympics until Dec. 31. The union maintains the memorandum of understanding agreed to in March 2013 can be terminated at any time.
