For those of you who don’t know, “LFG” stands for “Let’s fucking go!” This was our team’s rallying cry during my time at Stanford. It is also the name of the documentary that chronicles the USWNT’s fight for equal pay that premiered on television in June. (If you haven’t seen it, stop reading this and go watch it NOW.)
LFG followed Megan Rapinoe, Jess McDonald, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Sam Mewis, and Christen Press during the course of their lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) over pay discrimination that was filed in March of 2019. These women argued that U.S. Soccer engages in institutionalized gender discrimination and cited their earnings as evidence; USWNT players received less money per win for friendlies and at every stage in international tournaments compared to USMNT players.
More Soccer, She Wrote
2Cents FC | Episode 50 – Glasgow Glow-Up w/ Mariah Lee
02. The Product Of Unprotection | Soccer, She Wrote
While watching this documentary, I remembered my reactions to newsbreaks surrounding this case when they happened. In particular, I remember the moment U.S. Soccer disclosed its legal arguments for dismissing the case. The Federation made the claim that performance in the men’s game requires more “skill” and that male players have more “responsibility” than female players do. In essence, they stated that women are inferior to men, so women don’t deserve to be compensated equally, citing biological differences between the sexes as evidence.
I was appalled. Thinking back, I don’t know why I was so surprised, because I get confronted with misogynistic ways of thinking. All. The. Time. I typically encounter the “men are biologically superior” notion in response to my athletic prowess.
On dating apps it’s the worst. If I match with a guy and somehow share that I’m fast or strong, I too often hear, “I’m faster” or “I’m stronger.” My favorite is when some guy finds out I play professionally and says, “I used to play football as a kid. I can beat you.” Or better yet, “I’ve never played soccer before, but I bet I can beat you 1-on-1.”
I don’t care if they’re trying to flirt with me. These comments aren’t funny nor cute; they’re insulting. Because what they communicate is– by virtue of being a man they are better than me at my craft which I’ve spent tens of thousands of hours mastering, (with many of those hours spent training against men who play collegiately and semi-professionally in the States– who, not to mention, have trouble beating me and who I beat often). The entitlement that one has to have to assert with full confidence that he can do someone else’s job better than them, with no experience, is mind boggling. But then again, the male ego is capable of quite a lot.
As the six women’s national team players stated in the documentary, being a female athlete means constantly proving your worth. Whether that’s proving why you deserve equal pay, fair treatment, or respect, it’s an ongoing fight. It can be frustrating, thrilling, but most often exhausting.
“The entitlement that one has to have to assert the full confidence that he can do someone else’s job better than them, with no experience, is mind boggling. But then again, the male ego is capable of quite a lot.”
Oftentimes worth is tied to winning. When the U.S. women were asked what the greatest thing they could do for their case was, they stated, “winning.” The more championships won, the more legitimate their claims became, they thought. However, even after winning the 2019 World Cup, their lawsuit was still not successful.
If success doesn’t merit the realization of a woman’s demands, then what does failure grant? As a member of a team that’s in the midst of a losing streak, I’m searching for the answer to that question myself. Does every inquiry have to end with, “Well, you need to start winning first”? We teach children that wins and losses don’t define them, but do we extend this line of thinking to their beliefs as well?
—
Soccer, She Wrote is a bi-weekly Blog by Mariah Lee, following her journey as a Black-American Woman playing professional soccer in Europe.
SUPPORT BLACK JOURNALISM
Help us bring you more Sports stories and support the Black journalists that write them.
Support 2Cents Sports for as little as $1
Donate
