FC Nordsjaelland is my fourth professional soccer team. In the summer of 2019, I joined FF Lugano, a Champions League team based in Lugano, Switzerland; Spring, 2020 I became a member of OL Reign, Seattle’s NWSL team; Winter, 2021 I moved to Scotland to join Celtic FC Women; and now, I’m here in Denmark with FCN. Despite playing for world renowned football clubs, my time playing collegiate soccer in the States was the most “professional” experience.
The Benefits of Title IX
I was a member of the Stanford women’s soccer team for four years, and the Wake Forest women’s soccer team for one year during graduate school. Being an NCAA Division I athlete at a Power Five school meant I played games in a pristine soccer stadium with an adjacent practice field accompanied by a locker room, showers, lounge, and laundry service.
I had access to weight rooms, physical therapy centers, and training rooms with state of the art medical technologies and methodologies (think– cold tubs, hot tubs, anti-gravity treadmills, under-water treadmills, ultrasound therapy, laser therapy, blood-flow restriction machines, cupping, dry needling, compression pants, sports massages, etc). Sports psychologists, dieticians, and academic counselors were at my fingertips. Housing and meals were provided. Team doctors, surgeons, and world-class medical treatment was available upon injury.
All of this was made possible by Title IX. Title IX is a U.S. law that was passed in 1972 prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, As a result, American universities are required to give their male and female athletes equal access to sports teams, facilities, and resources. Under the confines of this law, everything I needed to flourish as an athlete was provided, however, outside of the protection of this law it was another world entirely.
Closing the gap
Being a female professional footballer simply means you get paid to play soccer (if that). There is no universal standard of treatment that must be met; as a result, the teams I played for have had varying levels of professionalism. For instance, one team had an athletic trainer who couldn’t tape an ankle, while another team didn’t have an athletic trainer present half of the time.
I’ve been on a team where I had to buy my own meals on away trips. I’ve been a part of a club where the women’s players weren’t allowed to visit the men’s doctors or use the men’s stadium, training grounds, or weight room.
The disparity in treatment between male and female players is not confined to the teams I’ve played for. Disparity is widespread and present at even the biggest football clubs in the world. This is a problem of concern, not competence.
“Despite playing for world renowned football clubs, my time playing collegiate soccer in the States was the most “professional” experience.”
Mariah Lee
Being at FCN for the past month has been a breath of fresh air. This club believes in equality, and more importantly, works towards achieving it. Here, we play matches and train in the same stadium as the men, lift in the same gym, live in the same residence, and eat the same food. While FCN’s medical resources don’t top what was available at Stanford or Wake Forest, what I have access to is what the men have access to.
My teammates say we’re lucky. I disagree. Luck implies chance and erases intentionality. I’ve worked just as hard as any man to get to this place in my career and I deserve to reap the same benefits – not simply because this is the ethical thing to do, but because investing into the women’s game is the smart thing to do.
From a business standpoint, FCN’s commitment to equity has already realized returns. The Mansour Group invested millions into FCN primarily because of the club’s approach to women’s football. FCN has clued into the fact that women’s soccer’s potential for growth is unlimited. Other club’s are doing themselves a disservice by not following suit.
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Soccer, She Wrote is a bi-weekly Blog by Mariah Lee, following her journey as a Black-American Woman playing professional soccer in Europe.
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