WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:01.950 align:middle line:10% - I have a question for all of you. 00:00:01.950 --> 00:00:05.730 align:middle line:10% So let's start first as a former National Team player and just 00:00:05.730 --> 00:00:09.270 align:middle line:10% your reaction to the ruling. 00:00:09.270 --> 00:00:10.470 align:middle line:10% - Surprised, of course. 00:00:10.470 --> 00:00:14.430 align:middle line:10% I mean, as a player that has fought for-- 00:00:14.430 --> 00:00:15.990 align:middle line:10% in our day it was equitable pay. 00:00:15.990 --> 00:00:18.000 align:middle line:10% Now it's equal pay-- 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.750 align:middle line:10% frustrated by the ruling. 00:00:21.750 --> 00:00:27.900 align:middle line:10% But a part of me had been hopeful from the players' side 00:00:27.900 --> 00:00:32.152 align:middle line:10% of me for months now that the players and US Soccer 00:00:32.152 --> 00:00:34.110 align:middle line:10% would come to the table, that they would settle 00:00:34.110 --> 00:00:36.533 align:middle line:10% because in the back of our minds, 00:00:36.533 --> 00:00:37.950 align:middle line:10% in the back of the players' minds, 00:00:37.950 --> 00:00:40.440 align:middle line:10% they also knew that going to trial 00:00:40.440 --> 00:00:42.480 align:middle line:10% could also be a dangerous path. 00:00:42.480 --> 00:00:43.560 align:middle line:10% Case in point, right? 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:45.630 align:middle line:10% Here is the problem with that. 00:00:45.630 --> 00:00:47.760 align:middle line:10% And so I'm a bit frustrated. 00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:50.190 align:middle line:10% For whatever reason, I get there's a lot of animosity 00:00:50.190 --> 00:00:54.060 align:middle line:10% on both sides that they never were able to get to the table 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:55.935 align:middle line:10% because I think it's a lost opportunity. 00:00:55.935 --> 00:00:57.810 align:middle line:10% - As somebody who knows the story well, who's 00:00:57.810 --> 00:01:00.240 align:middle line:10% been involved in this, why do you suppose 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:02.440 align:middle line:10% the judge sided against-- 00:01:02.440 --> 00:01:05.069 align:middle line:10% I guess so he's not siding with you but went against the women 00:01:05.069 --> 00:01:05.969 align:middle line:10% here. 00:01:05.969 --> 00:01:07.630 align:middle line:10% - Well, two things stood out to me, 00:01:07.630 --> 00:01:12.120 align:middle line:10% and this is the compensation piece, which he completely 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:16.560 align:middle line:10% denied and said that the reasons for that 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:19.010 align:middle line:10% were, one, the woman actually in this relevant period 00:01:19.010 --> 00:01:21.510 align:middle line:10% which they're looking at, which is essentially the last five 00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:24.960 align:middle line:10% years, said, one, the women made more on a gross standpoint 00:01:24.960 --> 00:01:27.540 align:middle line:10% and on a per game basis. 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:30.750 align:middle line:10% And two, he said that their pay structure is very different. 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:32.940 align:middle line:10% And this has always been something that's hard 00:01:32.940 --> 00:01:36.480 align:middle line:10% to explain because when we came in as players 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:39.480 align:middle line:10% on the women's side-- this goes back to my days of playing-- 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:41.850 align:middle line:10% we wanted a more guaranteed type of contract. 00:01:41.850 --> 00:01:44.040 align:middle line:10% We wanted the security of injury protection 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.070 align:middle line:10% because we didn't have big, large contracts 00:01:47.070 --> 00:01:50.730 align:middle line:10% with our professional clubs like the men do and did, 00:01:50.730 --> 00:01:52.470 align:middle line:10% and so we needed that security. 00:01:52.470 --> 00:01:55.170 align:middle line:10% And so we had injury protection, maternity protection, 00:01:55.170 --> 00:01:57.587 align:middle line:10% severance pay, and so there were a lot of other assurances 00:01:57.587 --> 00:01:58.487 align:middle line:10% we had in there. 00:01:58.487 --> 00:02:00.390 align:middle line:10% It's a very different setup for the women. 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:05.190 align:middle line:10% The judge obviously talked a lot about this in his judgment, 00:02:05.190 --> 00:02:07.610 align:middle line:10% in his opinion, this 32-page opinion, about that. 00:02:07.610 --> 00:02:10.110 align:middle line:10% So I think it was the fact that the women over the last five 00:02:10.110 --> 00:02:12.480 align:middle line:10% years made more money than the men, and two, 00:02:12.480 --> 00:02:15.020 align:middle line:10% that the pay structure was very different.