Compass Gender: U.S. Soccer President Resigns Over Pay Gap Lawsuit

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team celebrates its World Cup victory in 2019. (Wikimedia Commons)

U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) President Carlos Cordeiro resigned on March 12 following backlash against U.S. Soccer’s response to the pay equity and gender-based discrimination class action lawsuit raised by the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (WNT). The response, filed on March 9 at the Los Angeles federal court, consisted of several legal documents, including a memorandum addressing the class action claims.

Both players and the general public decried the document’s misogynistic content, including language suggesting women’s and men’s soccer teams “do not perform equal work requiring equal skill [and] effort,” essentially boiling down women’s soccer players as inferior to their male counterparts. U.S. Soccer attempted to justify pay differentials by pointing out physical differences between men and women, along with alleging that men’s players face greater “hostility” and thus a more difficult work environment. Backlash was swift, resulting in condemnations of the statement from press outlets and corporate sponsors alike.

Cordeiro’s resignation comes nearly a year after the WNT filed its suit in March 2019, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act, both of which prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Seeking more than $66 million in damages, the WNT pointed out significant gaps in pay, partially due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup prize offering being so much lower than its male counterpart’s. The lawsuit argues, however, that U.S. Soccer has a legal obligation to pay its players equally “regardless of how FIFA discriminates.”

Replacing Cordeiro will be U.S. Soccer Vice President Cindy Parlow Cone, who will be the first female president of the association in its century-plus-long history. Undoubtedly, it will be Cone’s responsibility to heal the contentious relationship between the WNT and the federation that regulates it.