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    Discrimination

    Came across this in another forum:


    Boys soccer (National team level) is funded at a much higher level than girls or women. The men make, on average, four times what the women make on the National Teams. The Federation runs residency camps for the boys, but not for the girls; it starts scouting and national team programs a year earlier for the boys then the girls; and, the Federation just agreed to spend $1.9 million per year on a "national league" for U16 and U18 boys whilst the girls get - zero.

    Our girls are ahead of most of the world because of cultural differences, not funding or support from the Federation. It can be argued that Federal Legislation requiring equal treatment for women and men in educational programs - Title IX - has aided women's sport in general and soccer in particular. And while many women athletes believe that to be the case, there is mounting evidence that it has been largely insignificant. There is also evidence that reliance on college as a training locus for women will impede the development of the game and allow the world to catch up and surpass us, as appears to be the happening (e.g., compare Brazil and the US on the women's side.)
    Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

    #2
    Discrimination

    I'm glad you brought this subject up. As I was watching the Women's US National team last night, I was wondering what type of salaries these players are making.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Discrimination

      Originally posted by keeper927
      I'm glad you brought this subject up. As I was watching the Women's US National team last night, I was wondering what type of salaries these players are making.
      I seem to recall this subject in the women's soccer ducmentary that came out a couple of years ago. Didn't Mia Hamm and the others hold out and threaten to boycott the Olympics unless they were paid a more equitable pay rate? I know it all worked in the end, but I don't believe they are still paid what the men are.

      Comment


        #4
        Yes- Dare to Dream covered this. The boycott enabled Brandi Chastain to return fro playing in Japan as I recall. (She was a scab)

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          #5
          My wife has a nice car; it runs well, needs little maintanence and is better than most cars on the road. On the other hand, my car is terrible, everything is wrong with it. It needs a transmission, tires, exhaust and is a bit of an embarrasment on the road. In figuring out the family budget, it is not hard to figure out where we need to spend our money in terms of our vehicles in hopes that my wife and I are both driving respectable vehicles.

          ^^^
          Riles

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            #6
            Not Discrimination

            I disagree with the thread title. The salary difference isn't "Discrimination". Its "Economic Reality".

            The USSF gets its money in several ways but by far the two biggest categories are sponsorships and ticket sales. Unless you show evidence that the women's team brings an equivalent revenue, its hard to argue that the failure to achieve equivalent salaries is actually discrimination.

            While the US has no reason to necessarily follow suit (its not like National team players can jump to another country if they don't like their pay), I am sure similar salary discrepancies exist in virtually every other countries. This is due to another Economic Reality. Men's professional soccer pays players alot more than women's and if the National Teams want their players to participate, they need to pay them market rates.

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              #7
              I think there was a time when the women brought in lots of money, prestige and notarity for US Soccer. In fact everyone knew who the women who played soccer were and not a clue who were the men. Certainly the general public when asked to name a US soccer player, even today would answer Mia Hamm. This was world wide,in fact. US Soccer now has chosen to promote the men's side. To some degree I understand why, but it seems the women's program has become a fading memory.
              Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

              Comment


                #8
                Mia is widely recognizable more for her contributions to female athletes in general and secondly (for lack of a better term) for her comtributions to soccer. She was an exception and would have done the same for women if she was as dominent in the WNBA (whose salaries also arent equal to mens).

                Professional athletes are paid based on the market they are in. How many will watch the WWC versus the Mens WC and follow the USA????

                There is no doubt they "deserve it" but they wont get it unless they are bringing in the bucks

                Mia is an icon and is paid like one....the rest are not because the infrastructure isn't there.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by just a thought
                  Mia is widely recognizable more for her contributions to female athletes in general and secondly (for lack of a better term) for her comtributions to soccer. She was an exception and would have done the same for women if she was as dominent in the WNBA (whose salaries also arent equal to mens).

                  Professional athletes are paid based on the market they are in. How many will watch the WWC versus the Mens WC and follow the USA????

                  There is no doubt they "deserve it" but they wont get it unless they are bringing in the bucks

                  Mia is an icon and is paid like one....the rest are not because the infrastructure isn't there.
                  Women in Hollywood are nearly equal to men in terms of power and income. It is purely a product of box office grosses. Same thing in sports. I do not think that one can compare discrimination in the workplace to sports. Different animals altogether.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I'm on the "economic reality" side of the ledger. But not because the MNT generates more dollars (I doubt that the difference in revenue would account for the disparity). Just because a potential WNT player is willing to drop her other job and play for "X" I wouldn't expect a potential MNT player to accept the same amount.

                    Top men's players make millions of dollars playing for their clubs.

                    Top women's players make hundreds of thousands (best case scenario).

                    Is it fair to ask Clint Dempsey or Brian McBride to put aside his commitment to his employer (the club) to play for the National Team for the same compensation as say Abby Wambach?

                    I see it as supply and demand. Men's players at present can demand higher salaries for their services 340 days per year.

                    Would they take less for the 30 or 40 days designated for National Team service? If not, would the average US Soccer fan be happy they were passing on National Team Duty to stay with their club or rest?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      On the flip side of the discrimination coin. I think that top women outearn the top men in ice skating, gymnastics and possibly tennis if the endorsements are counted. ( But , I have not done any research on this - so could later prove to be incorrect)

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Is it fair to ask Clint Dempsey or Brian McBride to put aside his commitment to his employer (the club) to play for the National Team for the same compensation as say Abby Wambach?
                        The top male professionals don't get docked pay for the time spent with their national teams.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Dad&Driver
                          I'm on the "economic reality" side of the ledger. But not because the MNT generates more dollars (I doubt that the difference in revenue would account for the disparity). Just because a potential WNT player is willing to drop her other job and play for "X" I wouldn't expect a potential MNT player to accept the same amount.

                          Top men's players make millions of dollars playing for their clubs.

                          Top women's players make hundreds of thousands (best case scenario).

                          Is it fair to ask Clint Dempsey or Brian McBride to put aside his commitment to his employer (the club) to play for the National Team for the same compensation as say Abby Wambach?

                          I see it as supply and demand. Men's players at present can demand higher salaries for their services 340 days per year.

                          Would they take less for the 30 or 40 days designated for National Team service? If not, would the average US Soccer fan be happy they were passing on National Team Duty to stay with their club or rest?
                          An interesting note I overheard was that in the new womens league, the lowest salary will be about 7 to 8K more than MLS lowest.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Anonymous
                            An interesting note I overheard was that in the new womens league, the lowest salary will be about 7 to 8K more than MLS lowest.
                            That doesn't mean much. There we be a lot few players and the risk is much higher. The league will start with only the top players, so you're looking at a much lower salary. It's all based on the projected revenue. Lets hope it's not mis-managed this time.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Anonymous
                              Is it fair to ask Clint Dempsey or Brian McBride to put aside his commitment to his employer (the club) to play for the National Team for the same compensation as say Abby Wambach?
                              The top male professionals don't get docked pay for the time spent with their national teams.
                              That's not the point I was trying to make.

                              The "going rate" for a male professional soccer player is higher than the going rate for a female professional soccer player. It's an economic reality. While the player is not "docked" he is unavailable to his club (which can be annoying for his employer) and is risking injury, which could cost him significantly more than an injury would cost a female professional.

                              The other implication here is that Mens Soccer and Womens Soccer are the same sport. I don't think that's accurate.

                              If a female firefighter makes less than a man that's discrimination because she does the same job and has the same requirements as her male counterpart. That is not true in soccer. If it were the best women's players would play for lots more money in mens professional leagues.

                              If you start with the given goal of enticing the top men and women to play for their respective National Team, it will take more to entice the men for many valid economical reasons that have nothing to do with discrimination.

                              I hope I'm not coming off as a chest thumping misogynist here, I just don't think it's fair to jump to a claim of discrimination where there are valid reasons for a pay scale difference.

                              Comment

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