Soccer among worst US sports in wage discrepancy by sex

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On Tuesday Nov. 8, 2016, we will elect our next president. In addition to being the most powerful person on the face of the earth, he or she will receive a salary of $400,000 along with a $100,000 non-taxable travel budget, $50,000 expense account and $19,000 for entertainment. The salary and perks are gender blind, which is a bit different than the current environment in men's and women's pro sports.

The US Women's National Team’s World Cup victory in Canada this past summer brought a standing ovation from sea to shining sea and a ticker tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes in New York City. Women’s soccer continues to grow in the United States. It is estimated that of the 19 million soccer-playing Americans, close to 8.5 million are female.

Last Wednesday five stars of the women’s national soccer team filed a federal complaint accusing the US Soccer Federation of wage discrimination, saying they earned as little as 40 percent of what players on the men's team earned. Goalie Hope Solo was joined in the suit by Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn.

[NEWS: Women accuse US Soccer Federation of wage discrimination]

Sports law superstar Jeffrey Keesler, representing the women, filed the action with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) which enforces civil rights laws concerning workplace discrimination.

The women have won three World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. The victory over Japan was viewed by 26 million Americans, which represents an all-time record. The men have won zero World Cups or Olympic gold medals.

The battle of the sexes in the sports world is heating up on many fronts. The serve and volley of tennis showed no love in the aftermath of the moronic statements of Raymond Moore, the once and former CEO of the Indian Wells pro tennis tournament.

He had this to say: "If I was a lady player, I’d go right down on my knees every night and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried the sport. In my next life I want to come back as a member of the Women’s Tennis Association. They ride the coattails of the men."

Serena Williams smacked a backhand upside his thick head: "I don’t think any woman should be down on her knees to thank anybody like that."

[RATTO: Making equal unequal: Moore, Djokovic so wrong they defy logic]

IF IT WAS EASY EVERYONE WOULD DO IT
The major challenge that the players on the USWNT face is that the traction of generating interest and revenue from their own league is yet to materialize.

Ever since Brandi Chastain made sports bras a multi million dollar business with her PK at the heart-pounding conclusion of the the 1999 Women’s World Cup, we have seen optimism turn into soccer sackcloth when it comes to the development of a strong and financially successful women’s pro soccer league in the US.

First, we had the WUSA (Women’s United Soccer League) from 2000-03, then WPS (Women’s Pro Soccer) from 2007-2012, and now the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League.)

WHY HASN’T WOMEN’S PRO LEAGUE SOCCER WORKED?
1. Soccer in the USA is an event driven sport. Whether it's Brandi’s bra, Mia Hamm's marketing, Hope Solo Dancing with the Stars, or Alex Morgan's magazine covers, it’s just another Tuesday matchup with no Golden Girls stars to jack up the attendance during the regular season.

2. Success does not breed success. National team success in the Olympics or World Cups hasn’t been enough to sustain a professional league.

3. Soccer OD. Just ask any soccer mom, dad, sister, brother, pet or player about going to another soccer game after having played four games during the weekend...

4. Players don’t become season ticket holders. Just because you played the game that doesn’t mean that when you grow up you are going plunk money down on your favorite childhood sport.

5. Lack of a consistent and significant TV partners. At various times the WUSA, WPS and NWSL was televised on TNT, CSN, Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports en Espanol, CNN SI, ESPN 2, PAX TV and a variety of local and regional sports channels. It helps to have a stable broadcast home.

6. Competition: The NBA, WNBA, NCAA, MLB, NFL, NHL, MLS, PGA, LPGA and NASCAR make it difficult to capture disposable sports dollar and time from fans.

7. Moolah and Patience. The past is prologue. It has taken the men’s game in the US 50 years and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to gain a foothold. MLS is making significant progress.

WHAT’S ON THE SOCCER HORIZON?
The 2015 World Cup ratings bonanza for the women blew away even the most optimistic predictions. The Rio Olympics are right around the corner for another soccer spike.

NWSL (National Women's Soccer League)
The momentum of the US women’s victorious road to the gold at the London Olympics launched the eight-team NWSL (National Women's’ Soccer League) composed of the Houston Dash, Portland Thorns, Seattle Reign, Washington DC Spirit, Western New York Flash and FC Kansas City.

There is a rose within the Thorns of women’s professional soccer and it happens to be in Portland. The Thorns, sister team of the fanatically followed MLS champion Portland Timbers, regularly draw over 15,000 per game and have an eye-popping 10,000 season ticket holders. When is the last time you saw a national media story on the Thorns and their eye popping numbers?

SHOW ME THE MONEY
One of the major inequities in the ongoing tug-of-war in pay equity is that men are sitting around the tables of the boardrooms making the business decisions for women's leagues. The following numbers show the disparity between remuneration in men’s and women’s pro sports.

Soccer
Women make $30,000 for making the World Cup team. Men pocket $68,750.
MLS average salary approximately $260,000. Women’s minimum salary in NWSL $6,842.
Pro Basketball
WNBA -- $107,000 player max for salary. Several WNBA coaches are making $250,000. Diana Taurasi made $1.5 million playing in Russia during her sabbatical from the 2015 WNBA season.
NBA -- $4.1 million average player salary.
College Basketball
Breanna Stewart from Connecticut, the two-time college player of the year, will make $50,000 in her rookie season as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. NCAA pays about $260,000 to a conference for each game one of its men’s teams play in the tournament. Women’s teams don’t get a dollar. The No. 1 player selected in this years NBA draft will be guaranteed close to $5 million.
Golf
Jim Herman won the Shell Open on Sunday and pocketed $1,224,000. Lydia Ko took home $390,000 for winning the ANA Inspiration.
Tennis
Men and women get the same amount of prize money for winning a major.

If it happens to be another Clinton taking up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in November, I expect to see the issue of pay equity in professional sports become a major ongoing national debate between the two sides who first met in the Garden of Eden.

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