The players of U.S Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) could potentially boycott the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 because of wage inequality in regards to the men's team.
In an interview with ESPN, USWNT co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn said that if nothing changes until July, the women's team may not go to Rio de Janeiro.
From the interview:
It would still be on the table. We are reserving every right to do so and we're leaving every avenue open. And if nothing has changed, if we don't feel real progress has been made, then that's a conversation that we're going to have.
. . . The outcome I hope is equal pay for equal play. I think, compensation-wise, respect-wise, that's what I'm really hoping comes out of this complaint. I hope that it puts enough pressure on the federation to show them our worth, our value.
Two weeks ago, Becky Sauerbrunn, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe represented the women's team in a complaint made to US Soccer concerning wage inequality. The WNT gets paid far less than the MNT, despite earning far higher profits.
The inequality in pay between the genders does not only occur in the soccer world; men receive higher wages in most sports.
The absence of USWNT would be a huge blow to the Olympics, especially because of the team's quality and status as the current World Champions.
It seems it's not just the USA who want to boycott the games. The Brazilians want to boycott them because the county is in the middle of the most serious economic crisis in its history, with alarming unemployment numbers, allegations of corruption, flaws in the health and education systems, and an epidemic of the Zika virus. There is dissatisfaction with Brazil's high investment in the games while its population suffers from a lack of resources.
These Olympic games will not be welcome, at least for the Brazilians and the USWNT, with too many problems involved. What remains is the hope that everything will be resolved and we can enjoy the greatest spectacle in the world of sport, the Olympic Games.
