For USWNT And U.S. Soccer, A Pathway To Peace In New Agreement

Here in the waning days of 2020, it is a time when optimism takes the form not of the current situation, but rather, a look ahead to a future where the true solution is possible.

For once, this is not a Covid-19 analysis, but rather the ramifications of the agreement between U.S. Soccer and its senior women’s national team over a dispute in the working conditions of the players.

This agreement does not end the conflict, and actually makes further litigation more, rather than less likely, at least in the immediate term. But what it does, more significantly, is clear away some of the underbrush on the path ahead, while at the same time, improving the previously-poisoned relationship between the two sides, with U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone citing the “new approach” of the federation.

“I believe our approach helped us reach this agreement and demonstrates the commitment of U.S. Soccer’s new leadership to find a new way forward with the USWNT,” Parlow Cone said in a statement Tuesday. “This settlement is good news for everyone and I believe will serve as a springboard for continued progress.”

Practically, the agreement ends many of the practices officially that had already been altered in the past few months — differences in quality of travel conditions, amount of support staff and other ways the men’s team received what the women’s team viewed as favorable treatment.

But codifying it only helps further solidify trust between the two sides, even as they remain far apart on the critical, outstanding question of what constitutes equal pay.

Back in May, federal judge R. Gary Klausner found in summary judgement for U.S. Soccer in a decision that eliminated equal pay claims from the litigations, but allowed working condition claims to go forward. With those eliminated, the players can now bring a streamlined appeal of just the equal pay issue, and their spokesperson, Molly Levinson, indicated they would now do just that.

“We remain as committed as ever,” Levinson said, “to our work to achieve the equal pay that we legally deserve.”

But as the calendar turns to 2021, there remains the imperative of both sides to find common ground on the issue of pay. With an unfavorable decision to appeal, the players may decide there is less of a pathway to outright legal victory than before Klausner first ruled. And U.S. Soccer has never had much of an economic upside to continue fighting against its iconic team — winning that fight carries with it its own drawbacks. While the two sides are many millions of dollars apart, both of these prods may send the two sides to a middle ground that ends this civil war once and for all.

Even if it doesn’t come within a settlement proper, there is also the outstanding men’s national team CBA that needs to be negotiated — it ended in 2018 — and a corresponding women’s CBA that ends at the conclusion of 2021. The easiest, most elegant solution would be to negotiate a new deal, collectively, with both the men and the women, making any claims of unequal treatment moot.

That seemed far likelier after Tuesday’s news. Parlow Cone did not pretend the relationship was without its problems, or without a need to heal it.

“We hope today’s positive step forward will result in the USWNT accepting our standing offer to discuss contract options,” Parlow Cone said. “As a former USWNT player, I can promise you that I am committed to equality between the USWNT and USMNT. My goal is, and has always been, to come to a resolution on all equal pay matters and inspire a new era of collaboration, partnership and trust between the USWNT and the Federation.”

In a difficult year, squinting and seeing that possibility in the months ahead suddenly seems a little bit easier.