All Things Sports

Merry Christmas everyone! During this time of year many people give and receive gifts and for female athletes in America, this year’s Christmas gift came a little early. It came in the form of an equal pay bill passed by Congress earlier this week. The bill has now gone to President Biden’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law, and it will require that all athletes who represent the United States in international competitions, like the Olympics, receive equal pay and benefits, regardless of gender. This bill is a major win for female athletes as it means that no matter what, they will be paid equally for representing their country and that’s the way it should be. Some may say that the pay should differ from sport to sport, but that is purely based on viewership and money generated. These things should not be applied to representing one’s country. When an athlete goes to an international competition and takes on the flag of the United States, they become a symbol for the country to get behind. It does not matter what sport they play or what gender they are. Each and every single athlete is an ambassador for the United States and a symbol of what we are capable of as a nation. That is why we must pay them equally. No matter how popular the sport is or what gender they are, they are still representing our nation in the best light and they deserve equal pay for that alone.

This piece of legislation, combined with the new US Soccer Federation Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA), represents a growing trend towards equal pay in international sports for women. This trend is most certainly welcome as it represents massive strides towards true gender equality at a time when the status quo has attempted to push back(Roe v Wade anyone?). However, if we are going to talk about this trend we must also remember where it started: the US Women’s Soccer team. If there is any group that should be given credit such as the Equal Pay act, then it has to be them. Athletes such as Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan got the ball rolling. This ball turned out to be a snowball as it kept growing and growing until eventually, we got the Equal Pay for Team USA Act.

Now does this mean that all problems related to equal pay are solved? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The issue still remains that women’s leagues don’t pay as much as men’s leagues and that occurs for a multitude of factors, some of which I have even covered on this blog. However, we can’t let this hold us down for progress is still progress and the legislation passed this week represents major progress.