The U.S. Women’s National Soccer team just became soccer champions of the world but they weren’t paid like it. The entire winning Women’s National team received $2 million, but the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team received $8 million after being eliminated in the first knockout round in the 2014 World Cup.

Representative Carolyn Maloney from New York wrote a letter to FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, on Monday urging him to address this pay inequality. In her letter to Blatter, she accuses FIFA officials of making excuses for the pay gap by arguing that there have been more soccer tournaments for men over the years.

This is true–there have only been seven FIFA Women’s World Cups as opposed to the twenty FIFA World Cups. But on the other hand, women’s soccer did not become popular until the 20th century when the first FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in 1991.

FIFA has a history of being a bit discriminatory toward women players. Many high profile players filed a lawsuit challenging FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association in January 2015 after FIFA announced women would play on artificial turf for the Women’s World Cup instead of grass like the men. Artificial turf is known for being hotter, shorter, and dryer. Playing on artificial turf has been proven to cause higher levels of fatigue and more injuries than playing on natural grass. Sydney Leroux, the U.S. Women’s Soccer forward posted this picture, illustrating the danger.

This is why soccer should be played on grass! pic.twitter.com/fsNGi27oRY

— Sydney Leroux Dwyer (@sydneyleroux) April 15, 2013

Unfortunately, this is not the first time women athletes have been paid less than their male counterparts. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, this problem exists in almost every sport. In golf, the total prize money for the PGA Tour is more than five times that of the LPGA Tour. In 2005, for the WNBA the salary cap per team was $673,000 compared to the NBA salary cap per team at $46 million.

There are some exceptions, but they’re few and far between. In 2007, Wimbledon changed its rules stating that both men and women would receive equal prize money. All four Grand Slam events in tennis now offer equal prize money for both male and female athletes.

So what is the difference between men and women’s sports? The answer is revenue. According to the Wall Street Journal, there was $17 million raised in sponsor revenue for the Women’s World Cup this year compared to the $529 million for the men’s tournament in 2014. This data shows sponsors are less interested in supporting women’s sports, which causes revenue to suffer.

UK Sport and Tourism Minister Helen Grant addressed the argument during an interview with BBC last year that women’s sports do not generate as much revenue as the men’s sports stating:

It’s not just about the bottom line and profits and the return on investment which I believe they will get, it’s also taking part in the battle for gender balance and fairness in the 21st century, Sports need to engage in the battle of gender balance and fairness.

Grant’s solution for pay equality in women’s athletics is to encourage media outlets to show women’s sports more frequently and in turn generate more commercial investment. With more media coverage, women’s sports would attract larger audiences of both viewers and sponsors. Like Grant said, gender pay inequality in sports underscores the larger issue that gender inequality still exists all over the world and must be addressed.

The Women’s World Cup this year crushed TV record ratings, making it the highest ever for a U.S. soccer game. FIFA should not only pay these women for their hard work and determination, but by ending the pay gap it would show the world that it supports women’s soccer and will continue to as it grows in the future.

Jennie Burger

Jennie Burger is a member of the University of Oklahoma Class of 2016 and a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Jennie at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Did Sexism Win the Women’s World Cup? appeared first on Law Street.

Hey y’all!

I was trying really hard to keep my opinion to myself when it came to the Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Jonathan Dwyer domestic violence cases, but I just can’t anymore.

Last night I watched as many different male commentators shared their opinions on ESPN about all things domestic violence and what the NFL should do, and then I read an article this morning that has irritated me beyond belief. Female Soccer star Hope Solo was arrested and charged with domestic violence back in June but there is little coverage of the story. The only news I found about her recently is that she set a new “record while awaiting domestic violence trial.” So Hope gets to live her life, play the sport that she loves, and silently await trial for not only causing injury to a child but also to her sister. Now reports say that she was drunk at the time, which is no excuse! No matter if you are sober, drunk, or have some crazy sleep disorder that causes you to hit someone you should not be left on a pedestal while others are ostracized for causing bodily harm to others as well.

I do not support domestic violence and I certainly have a problem with any woman who states “I don’t believe in domestic violence, but I will say: any woman who can hit a man, a man shouldn’t have to sit there and take the abuse. The abuse goes both ways.” This Ray Rice fan, only identified as Kathy, is out of her mind! No one needs to be laying a hand on anyone in a violent manner. Ever. Both men and women should be able to exercise restraint, you are adults!

Do I believe in corporal punishment? Absolutely. But there is a difference between corporal punishment and domestic violence. Domestic violence is defined as “violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner.” Corporal punishment is defined as “punishment administered by an adult (as a parent or a teacher) to the body of a child ranging in severity from a slap to a spanking.”

So while Ray Rice is now an ex-NFL player, Adrian Peterson is on the NFL’s “exempt” list (what is that, like Santa’s naughty and nice list?), and who knows what will happen to Jonathan Dwyer, little miss Hope Solo was able to apologize to the public and go back to work. How is this fair? After all these years of women wanting to be treated as equals we go and do this. We allow a woman to hit not one but two people, apologize, and then go back to work and be praised for a 72nd shutout game with her national team?

Men can’t hit women or children, but apparently women can hit men, women, and children while still being able to go about their lives without being judged by the public and no actions are taken from the league she works for? Yes, her charges seem to be misdemeanors but an arrest and a trial, that is enough for me to feel the need to ostracize her and state that she should have been yanked from the league until her trial was over and resolved.

We do things differently in the south. We were all raised on the idea of getting a spanking. In fact, there may have been a time or two where my Mississippi grandmother would order me outside to the weeping willow tree to grab a switch because I had done something wrong. In all honesty I don’t remember if I ever got a whipping but the threat of it and making me pick out my switch was enough to make me not act up again. I also had a father who was a true military man through and through. I would have to say, in my eyes, my dad was a mix of John Wayne and General Patton. All he ever had to do was give a look and I knew not to do what I was about to do. That is the kind of fear we need to instill in our children today. We shouldn’t coddle them, but we also shouldn’t have to actually harm them, that fear is enough. (For me at least, until I got into my teenage years, but that’s a different story.) I love my dad but even to this day he could scare me to death with that look.

Hope needs a reality check. You don’t get to hit people — even if you’re drunk — and still have a career that influences young women all over the world. Many claim that Rice, Peterson, and Dwyer were role models to children. So is Hope. Maybe, as a parent, you should want your child’s role model to be someone in the community and not a celebrity.

Can we also remember that domestic violence is NOT just violence against women! Women beat their husbands and children, too. We can’t spend weeks talking about the male athletes charged with domestic violence like Rice, Peterson, and Dwyer without acknowledging Solo. It’s sexist and full of exclusion.

—

Allison Dawson (@AllyD528) Born in Germany, raised in Mississippi and Texas. Graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University. Currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative.

Featured image courtesy of [love @ll via Flickr]

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Men Aren’t the Only Superstar Athletes Charged with Domestic Violence appeared first on Law Street.