If there’s one thing that’s been apparent for the U.S. women’s national team on the biggest stages over the last three decades, it’s that it has a habit of winning. Some games during tournaments don’t go its way. Some tournaments as a whole don’t go its way. It’s far from faultless. But it persists and tends to bounce back quite emphatically if and when missteps occur.
So for the USWNT, Tuesday was a day that was nearly six years and two World Cup cycles in the making and has all the hallmarks of another resounding triumph in the face of adversity.
The long-running lawsuit waged against U.S. Soccer alleging gender discrimination has been settled, pending some rather important contingencies. While it is surely a day for celebration, things are not quite at the finish line. The agreement over the most contentious issue has been sorted—U.S. players will receive $22 million in back pay, while another $2 million will be dedicated to post-player ventures and charitable use—it won’t go into effect until a new USWNT CBA has been ratified. And that isn’t likely to be fully possible without buy-in from the U.S. men's players, who must also meet the federation’s stated wish for "an equal rate of pay going forward for the women’s and men’s national teams in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup."
