On Thursday, women on the the U.S. women’s national team asked a judge to skip a trail and simply rule in their favor in their $66 million wage discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, which has countered by asking the judge to dismiss the case.
<a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/uswnt-us-soccer-equal-pay-lawsuit-motions-filed-035910029.html">Yahoo Sports</a> reported, “The USWNT’s lawyers filed a motion for summary judgment, which means the judge would find the players had been discriminated against without the need to go to trial. As part of that, they filed a lengthy analysis determining the women were due up to $67 million in retroactive pay.
U.S. Soccer stated, as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/u-s-women-s-soccer-players-seek-more-66-million-n1140211">NBC News</a> reported:
<blockquote>Women’s national team players are paid differently because they specifically asked for and negotiated a completely different contract than the men’s national team, despite being offered, and rejecting, a similar pay-to-play agreement during the past negotiations. Their preference was a contract that provides significant additional benefits that the men’s national team does not have, including guaranteed annual salaries, medical and dental insurance, paid child-care assistance, paid pregnancy and parental leave, severance benefits, salary continuation during periods of injury, access to a retirement plan, multiple bonuses and more.</blockquote>
Molly Levinson. spokeswoman for the women, countered:
<blockquote>In the most recent CBA negotiation, USSF repeatedly said that equal pay was not an option regardless of pay structure. USSF proposed a “pay to play structure” with less pay across the board. In every instance for a friendly or competitive match, the women players were offered less pay that their male counterparts. This is the very definition of gender discrimination, and of course the players rejected it.</blockquote>
As Matt Walsh wrote in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-womens-soccer-players-say-they-deserve-equal-matt-walsh">The Daily Wire</a> last July, “… historically U.S. men&#8217;s soccer has generated more revenue than U.S. women&#8217;s soccer. That gap has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/us-womens-soccer-games-now-generate-more-revenue-than-mens.html">closed in recent years</a>, and now the women generate slightly more than the men — though this only takes into account ticket sales, not TV deals and merchandise. But the pay gap in U.S. soccer is not nearly as large as advertised. The highest-paid female soccer players in this country are paid almost the same as the highest-paid male soccer players. The pay gap in U.S. soccer only widens among the lower-tier players.&#8221;
Walsh quoted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/sports/soccer/usmnt-uswnt-soccer-equal-pay.html">The New York Times:</a>
<blockquote>According to figures provided by U.S. Soccer, since 2008 it has paid 12 players at least $1 million. Six of those players were men, and six were women. And the women hold their own near the top of the pay scale; the best-paid woman made about $1.2 million from 2008 to 2015, while the top man made $1.4 million in the same period. Some women in the top 10 even made more than their male counterparts over those years.</blockquote>
Walsh continued, “The really significant pay gap, and the one that gets most of the press, is in the World Cup payouts. FIFA, the international soccer organization, will give about $400 million to male players in the World Cup, while female players will make around $30 million. When you hear that male players make 10 times what female players make, this is the figure that justifies the claim.”

Canada v United States: Final &#8211; 2020 CONCACAF Women&#8217;s Olympic Qualifying

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Asks Judge To Skip Trial, Give Them The Money

Soccer

United States women&#8217;s soccer star, Megan Rapinoe, perhaps best known for taking a knee during the American national anthem at National Women&#8217;s Soccer League matches (and skipping out on the national anthem altogether during the World Cup), is firing back at the International Olympic Committee Monday after the IOC banned political protests by athletes competing at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Rapinoe took to Instagram and Twitter to declare that she and others &#8220;will not be silenced,&#8221; despite the IOC&#8217;s pleas for athletes to keep their political opinions off the field of play or risk ruining the &#8220;uniting&#8221; and &#8220;neutral&#8221; stance of the global Olympic games.
“So much for being done about the protests,” the women&#8217;s soccer star wrote on social media, above a graphic showing fists raised in the air. “So little being done about what we are protesting about. We will not be silenced.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Megan Rapinoe responds to the IOC banning protests at the Olympics: “We will not be silenced” <a href="https://t.co/69PljKC8u5">pic.twitter.com/69PljKC8u5</a>
&mdash; Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1215747806406815744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The International Olympic Committee said Friday that protesting on the field of play, or in awards ceremonies or official activities is prohibited, and that such  “divisive disruption&#8221; could meet with disciplinary action.
“We believe that the example we set by competing with the world’s best while living in harmony in the Olympic Village is a uniquely positive message to send to an increasingly divided world,” the IOC said in a statement released to global media on Friday, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2020-olympics-international-olympic-committee-bans-political-protests-athletes-tokyo-games/">per CBS News.</a> “This is why it is important, on both a personal and a global level, that we keep the venues, the Olympic Village and the podium.&#8221;
“They are not and must never be a platform to advance political or any other divisive ends,” IOC President Thomas Bach added in his own statement. “Our political neutrality is undermined whenever organizations or individuals attempt to use the Olympic Games as a stage for their own agendas, as legitimate as they may be.”
Athletes are still allowed to express their personal opinion, &#8220;during press interviews outside the Village, in meetings and on traditional and social media,&#8221; when they are on their own time, the outlet says.
That will definitely throw some cold water on Rapinoe&#8217;s protests, which she began in solidarity with now-former 49ers second string quarterback, Colin Kaepernick.
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“I haven’t experienced over-policing, racial profiling, police brutality or the sight of a family member’s body lying dead in the street. But I cannot stand idly by while there are people in this country who have had to deal with that kind of heartache,” Rapinoe wrote in <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/megan-rapinoe-why-i-am-kneeling">an essay for The Players Tribune</a> back in 2016, when Kaepernick was actively protesting.  “There is no perfect way to protest&#8230;I know that nothing I do will take away the pain of those families. But I feel in my heart it is right to continue to kneel during the national anthem, and I will do whatever I can to be part of the solution.”
Women&#8217;s soccer doesn&#8217;t have a wide audience, so few noticed Rapinoe&#8217;s protests until the U.S. women&#8217;s national soccer team began dominating the global competition in the women&#8217;s World Cup. At that point, Rapinoe&#8217;s protests put her front and center. She had planned to continue her proud tradition of kneeling or absenting herself during the national anthem if the team won a medal in Tokyo, and pledged, on social media, not to be deterred.
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Megan Rapinoe

US Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Declares War As Olympics Ban Political Protests: ‘We Will Not Be Silenced’

Olympics

At the same time that two professional football players <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/retirements-of-rob-gronkowski-and-andrew-luck-and-ezekiel-elliotts-holdout-show-new-normal-in-nfl-210820023.html">leave</a> the sport in the prime of their careers because their bodies can&#8217;t handle the abuse anymore, a woman is planning her grand entrance. U.S. women&#8217;s national soccer team star Carli Lloyd — a 140-pound, 38-year-old female — says she is considering allegedly serious offers from various NFL teams. These offers were supposedly prompted by a viral video of Lloyd successfully completing a 55-yard field goal at a Philadelphia Eagles practice. With one good field goal under her belt, she feels ready to jump into a sport where the average player outweighs her by 100 pounds and stands about five inches taller. Despite that significant disadvantage, Lloyd says she &#8220;<a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/08/27/uswnt-star-carli-lloyd-reportedly-received-offer-to-kick-for-nfl-team-during-preseason-game/">definitely could</a>&#8221; compete in the league.
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Leftist media have predictably gushed over this news. ThinkProgress <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/carli-lloyd-is-not-a-stunt-679ada2fd6ba/">proclaimed</a> that a female field goal kicker &#8220;would be representing women everywhere who are trying to break through barriers.&#8221; The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/28/carli-lloyd-not-afraid-kick-nfl-will-she-get-chance/">hailed</a> Lloyd&#8217;s &#8220;brawny confidence.&#8221; The Guardian excitedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/26/carli-lloyd-nfl-female-kicker">wondered</a> whether the soccer player might finally break the &#8220;glass ceiling&#8221; that has heretofore prevented women from suiting up on game day. To that point, Lloyd would certainly break something on an NFL field — but it won&#8217;t be any ceiling.
Of course, we should stipulate that converting a field goal on a practice field doesn&#8217;t make you NFL material any more than a hole-in-one in mini-golf makes you a candidate for the PGA Tour. You have to do it with shoulder pads and a helmet, a game clock winding down, 70,000 fans watching, and — most importantly — 11 absurdly fast and extravagantly muscled defenders rushing toward you at a literal breakneck speed.
Speaking of breaking necks, that would be the most likely fate of the first female NFL player. It seems sadly inevitable that the league will eventually cave to P.C. pressure (as it has a tendency to do) and force some poor team to put a woman on its active roster. In our enlightened area, we just cannot allow professional football to remain the exclusive province of men. But I hope for Lloyd&#8217;s sake that — despite her wishes — she is not the lamb sacrificed on this particular altar of wokeness.
Kickers might not absorb as much contact as running backs and linebackers, but they wear pads for a reason. Kickers can get flattened during blocked kicks and while trying to tackle someone who recovers a blocked kick. Kickers can get dog-piled on a fumbled snap. Kickers can get pancaked by hard blocks during kick returns. In all of these cases, the people delivering the abuse are big, strong, nasty men who hit other big, strong, nasty men for a living. All the girl power in the world can&#8217;t compensate for the fact that a woman&#8217;s body simply isn&#8217;t built to withstand these collisions. Men&#8217;s bodies are hardly built for it, either, which is why NFL players often end up hobbled and brain-damaged. But they can at least survive it. For a time, anyway. Carli Lloyd cannot.
Am I saying that Lloyd is weaker, slower, and more fragile just because she&#8217;s a woman? Yes, that&#8217;s precisely what I&#8217;m saying. And one full speed encounter with a 275-pound blocker on a kick return would be enough to prove the point convincingly — and maybe fatally. God help the woman who must suffer that fate just to demonstrate the flaws in modern feminist doctrine.

Women&#8217;s Soccer

WALSH: A Female Soccer Player Says She ‘Definitely’ Could Play In The NFL. No, She Definitely Couldn’t.

Feminism

Political Correctness

Sports

Earlier this week, after a video of U.S. National Soccer team star Carli Lloyd kicking a 55-yard field goal went viral, her trainer James Galanis <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/carli-lloyd-nfl-kicker-preseason-offer-field-goal-roster-team-082619">told FOX Sports</a> that one NFL team had expressed interest in hiring her. Galanis told Fox reporter Martin Rogers, &#8220;Today, she got another call from another NFL team. The one that called today, I don’t want to say who it is, was willing to put her on the roster for their next (game). They were willing to put her on the roster … She was told (she could) play on Thursday, the NFL game, but she is playing Thursday with the national team, so that was the conflict.&#8221;
Galanis continued, &#8220;Knowing Carli, I don’t think she would just hop on and do it. She would need a couple of weeks training just to get comfortable and acclimatized. But things have escalated and it is real. I think Carli is perfectly made out for a job like that. She loves the pressure. She’s got one of the hardest kicks in the world when it comes to women. She is great at long range balls, she displayed that by scoring a goal from just past the halfway line in a World cup final, and she is definitely in tune with the mechanics. She would be an ideal candidate … We are thinking about what it would do to the sport itself, every sport at every level. She would be the first female that’s really playing with males, and what would it do to the whole equality (issue).&#8221;
Now Lloyd is saying she is considering the idea. She spoke with Jeff Skversky of ABC6 Philadelphia on Wednesday, and he asked, &#8220;This has been coming up a lot. How much do you continue to think about pursuing an NFL job?&#8221;
Lloyd answered:
<blockquote>Yeah, it’s been something that’s turned into a casual day out at the Eagles practice just hitting some field goals. I’m competitive by nature, started at 25 yards and just kept moving back. That nailed my 55-yard in one try. The next thing I know, I’ve gotten in the car and it’s gone completely viral and it’s gone completely crazy in these last couple weeks. It’s good news. I think it’s started the conversation. At first I was kind of laughing about it, but after speaking with my husband and close family and friends at home, I think that anything’s possible and I think I’d be foolish to maybe not entertain the idea of potentially doing it.
I know that there’s some challenges and there’s some big men on the line; I get that; I’m not naïve to that, but I’m not trying to be a quarterback or a running back. It’s kicking field goals. I think with the right technique, the right practice, getting that two-step down, I think I can do it and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me saying that I can do it.</blockquote>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Carli Lloyd is still thinking about the NFL kicking offers as she gets set to play at the Linc &#8211; home of the Eagles
Lloyd says if she were to ever play vs the Eagles &#8211; her favorite team &#8211; Lloyd’s competitive nature would kick in to beat the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Eagles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Eagles</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/6abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@6abc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USWNT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USWNT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarliLloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CarliLloyd</a> <a href="https://t.co/UiknpjmI6p">pic.twitter.com/UiknpjmI6p</a>
— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffSkversky/status/1166813999817797632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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She also told Skversky, “It&#8217;s honestly gotten me thinking a little bit, you now, I think, from a kicking perspective, that’s what I do for a living. I don’t see why not. Women can kick, I think with the right technique and the right practice … I think that it’s possible. I&#8217;m kind of considering, considering the offers and we&#8217;ll see what happens.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Carli Lloyd tells <a href="https://twitter.com/6abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@6abc</a> she is considering NFL Kicking Offers
&#8220;it&#8217;s honestly gotten me thinking a little bit&#8230; I think that it&#8217;s possible. I&#8217;m considering the offers and we&#8217;ll see what happens&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/6abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@6abc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarliLloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CarliLloyd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/a58xTIeBUh">pic.twitter.com/a58xTIeBUh</a>
— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffSkversky/status/1166764991715926016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Lloyd may say, “I’m not trying to be a quarterback or a running back,” but kickers in football sometimes have to do more than kick — sometimes they have to make a tackle, and sometimes even when they’re kicking things get pretty rough. Here are a few pieces of evidence she might want to consider before getting out on the field in the NFL:
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H/T <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/28/carli-lloyd-nfl-offers-considering-soccer/">Daily Caller</a>

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Star: I Think I Can Be A Kicker In The NFL

Mediation over a dispute in pay between the U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. National Women’s Team dissolved Wednesday with no resolution in sight.
Yahoo News <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mediation-talks-break-down-between-uswnt-players-us-soccer-231545134.html">reported</a> Wednesday night that players from the women’s team ended the negotiations, blaming the USSF.
“We entered this week’s mediation with representatives of [U.S. Soccer] full of hope,” said Molly Levinson, spokeswoman for women’s team in their lawsuit. “Today we must conclude these meetings sorely disappointed in the Federation’s determination to perpetuate fundamentally discriminatory workplace conditions and behavior.”
Neil Buethe, spokesman for USSF, countered Levinson’s statement and blamed the women’s team for being obstinate.
“We have said numerous times that our goal is to find a resolution, and during mediation we had hoped we would be able to address the issues in a respectful manner and reach an agreement,” Buethe said in a statement to Yahoo. “Unfortunately, instead of allowing mediation to proceed in a considerate manner, plaintiffs’ counsel took an aggressive and ultimately unproductive approach that follows months of presenting misleading information to the public in an effort to perpetuate confusion.”
The women’s team filed a lawsuit against USSF in March, claiming they received lower bonuses than the men’s team and suffered from “systemic gender-based pay discrimination.” They also said they received less generous travel accommodations and facilities compared to the men’s team.
In June, the women’s team released a statement claiming that the suggestion that the men’s team brings in more revenue and is therefore paid more was false. The women’s team claimed that they actually brought in slightly more revenue than the men’s team &#8211; $50.8 million to $49.9 million. The team looked at the past three years. Looking at more seasons, it became clear that the women’s team only out-earned the men’s team in one year, and the gap was close in the other two years.
At the end of July, USSF produced a “fact sheet” that included an expanded time frame, showing that the women’s team has only recently caught up to the men’s team in revenue. Further, the USSF claimed the women’s team had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50053/us-soccer-releases-fact-sheet-showing-womens-team-ashe-schow">actually lost millions of dollars</a> over the past 10 years. USSF also pointed out that the women’s team receives a guaranteed base salary for the season and an additional guaranteed base salary for playing in the National Women’s Soccer League. They also receive game bonuses, health insurance, a retirement plan, injury protection and maternity leave. The men’s team only receives game bonuses, which are higher than what the women’s team receives because that’s their only compensation.
Also, each team negotiates their own pay and benefits as part of a collective-bargaining agreement, meaning any disputes are the fault of those who negotiated and accepted the deal. The women’s collective-bargaining agreement is due for review in 2021, and since women’s soccer has become more popular in recent years, they will likely have more ground to stand on revenue-wise.
Following the breakdown in mediation, the dispute will now go to trial, according to Yahoo.
“We want all of our fans, sponsors, peers around the world, and women everywhere to know we are undaunted and will eagerly look forward to a jury trial,” the team’s attorney, Molly Levinson told the outlet.
USSF spokesman Neil Buethe also said USSF was “undaunted in our efforts to continue discussions in good faith.”
A trial would allow the American people to find out who is telling the truth when it comes to compensation.

Pay Negotiations Break Down Between U.S. Soccer Federation, Women’s Team

Gender Wage Gap

After the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) on Monday released a statement and “fact sheet” detailing the different pay structures of the men’s and women’s teams, the U.S. Men’s National Team released their own statement critical of the federation’s claims.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://t.co/4zd2cXMNw1?amp=1">published</a> the statement, in which members of the men’s team point out deficiencies in the federation’s statistics. At the end of their statement, they point out that their collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of 2018 and have not been contacted by USSF President Carlos Cordeiro, who released the statement on Monday.
The men’s team start their statement by saying they stand with the women’s team “in their pursuit of fair compensation for their work as professional soccer players” and said they “were not impressed” with Cordeiro’s letter.
“The Federation downplays contributions to the sport when it suits them,” the men’s team wrote. “This is more of the same from a Federation that is constantly in disputes and litigation and focuses on increasing revenue and profits without any idea how to use that money to grow the sport. One way to increase profit unfairly is to refuse to pay national team players a fair share of the revenue they generate.”
The men’s team also criticized USSF for claiming the women’s team <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50053/us-soccer-releases-fact-sheet-showing-womens-team-ashe-schow">lost $27 million over the past decade</a>. The men’s team claimed this figure is based “on false accounting” since the USSF acknowledged that it “does not count any of the sponsorship, television, or marketing money” the federation generates from the teams.
“What US sports team makes money if they don’t count television, sponsorship, and marketing revenue?”
In the USSF letter, the federation said it “traditionally” does not attribute such revenue “directly to either the women’s or men’s team alone.” Instead, USSF looked at how much each team made per game in “ticket revenues minus event expenses.” Using that figure, the men’s team generated more than twice what the women’s team generated per game. Adding in sponsorship may alter those figures.
The men’s team also said Cordeiro’s “only solution” was for “fans to buy more tickets and watch more games on television.” That is why the men’s team may take home more money than the women’s team, since more people pay attention to men’s soccer.
But, the men’s team said, Cordeiro and the USSF “conceals the fact that the money will not go to” to the women’s team.
“We are also surprised Mr. Cordeiro is writing about labor issues since he has yet to contact the [U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association] since taking office,” the men’s team concluded. “As you may know, our [collective bargaining agreement] expired at the end of 2018 and we are currently waiting on a response from U.S. Soccer to our proposal that would pay the men a fair share of all the revenue they generate and would provide equal pay” to the men’s and women’s players.
Both the men’s and women’s teams negotiated their own pay structures. The women’s team receives a base salary and benefits as well as bonuses. The men’s team only receives the bonuses, which are thus higher than the bonuses received by the women’s team. If what the USSF said is true, even with these different pay structures, the women’s team was paid more than the men’s team.

Men’s Team Dispute’s U.S. Soccer’s ‘Fair And Equitable’ Pay Claims

The President of the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) released a “<a href="https://www.ussoccer.com/governance/board-of-directors/us-soccer-president-carlos-cordeiro/open-letter-july-29-2019-finding-common-ground">fact sheet</a>” Monday night alleging that, contrary to claims made as part of a lawsuit, the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) actually lost the federation millions of dollars. Despite this, the president claimed, women soccer players still out-earned their male counterparts.
Every four years, when the Women’s soccer World Cup is in the news, we are told that the women’s team is paid less than the men’s team. The claim is used as a rallying cry in the demand for equal pay, even though athletes and other entertainers have vastly different pay structures than average Americans.
Still, we are told the women’s team is discriminated against because of their gender because they are paid less than the men’s team. Earlier this year, the women’s team filed a lawsuit against the USSF alleging pay discrimination. In June, the women’s team released information alleging they brought in more revenue for USSF than the men’s team. The difference was slight — $50.8 million to $49.9 million — but it was enough to cast doubt on those saying the women’s team doesn’t bring in as much revenue as the men’s team.
Now USSF President Carlos Cordeiro is pushing back. He wrote an open letter explaining that he directed U.S. Soccer staff to conduct “an extensive analysis of the pa st 10 years of U.S. Soccer’s financials.” He said the analysis was “reviewed by an independent accounting firm.” The analysis showed that the women’s team was paid more than the men’s team.
The fact sheet includes bulleted information about the different pay structures for the men’s and women’s teams. USSF claimed that it paid “women $34.1 million in salaries and game bonuses and we paid our men $26.4 million — not counting the significant additional value of various benefits that our women’s players receive but which our men do not.”
For example, the women’s team has a guaranteed salary thanks to their collective bargaining agreement with USSF. They receive a base salary of $100,000 each year and an additional salary of $67,500 to $72,500 for playing in the National Women’s Soccer League. Male soccer players do not have such an agreement.
That agreement means women soccer players earn a guaranteed salary of $167,500 to $172,500 each year. On top of that, they are paid bonuses. The men’s team only earns bonuses. Yes, those bonuses can be larger, but that’s because they don’t have the guaranteed base salary. The women’s team, according to USSF, also receives benefits including a 401(k) plan and health insurance, as well as maternity leave and injury protection. The men’s team does not receive any benefits.
Finally, USSF points out that the “hypothetical per game comparison” making the media rounds isn’t even plausible. Neither the men’s nor the women’s teams have ever played 20 friendly matches in a year, yet this is what the hypothetical scenario is based on.
“That said, if the men and women ever did play in and win 20 friendlies in a year and were paid the average bonus amount, a women’s player would earn more­ from U.S. Soccer than the men’s player — the women’s player would earn at least $307,500 (WNT and NWSL salaries, plus game bonuses) and the men’s player would earn $263,333 (game bonuses only),” USSF claimed.
A shocking claim included in the USSF fact sheet are statistics showing the women’s team has actually lost USSF money:
<blockquote>From 2009 through 2019 — a timeframe that includes two Women’s World Cup championships — the Women’s National Team has earned gross revenue of $101.3 million over 238 games, for an average of $425,446 per game, and the Men’s National Team has earned gross revenue of $185.7 million over 191 games, for an average of $972,147 per game. More specifically, WNT games have generated a net profit (ticket revenues minus event expenses) in only two years (2016 and 2017).Across the entire 11-year period, WNT games generated a net loss of $27.5 million. Nevertheless, U.S. Soccer does not view these as losses, but rather as an important investment in our Women’s National Team and in the long-term growth of women’s soccer.</blockquote>
A spokeswoman for the women’s team called the fact sheet a “ruse” and a “sad attempt” to halt the lawsuit.
“The USSF fact sheet is not a ‘clarification.’ It is a ruse,” said team spokeswoman Molly Levinson, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/us-womens-national-team-ruse-pay-fact-sheet">according to Fox News</a>. “Here is what they cannot deny. For every game a man plays on the MNT he makes a higher base salary payment than a woman on the WNT. For every comparable win or tie, his bonus is higher. That is the very definition of gender discrimination.”
Levinson did not address the fact that the men’s team does not actually have a base salary.

U.S. Soccer Releases ‘Fact Sheet’ Showing Women’s Team Actually LOST Millions Yet Was Still Paid More Than Men’s Team

For the first time in my life, I did not root for an American team. Whatever the sport, I have always rooted American. But if those who called into my radio show were representative of my audience, many millions of Americans made the same sad choice.
It takes a lot for people like me not to root for an American team. But Megan Rapinoe, the foul-mouthed star of the team, and her fellow players made it possible.
The U.S. women&#8217;s team disgraced itself. Either its members were cowed into submission by Rapinoe or they agreed (or, at least, never disagreed) with her attacks on the president, her reference to the White House as the &#8220;f—-ing White House,&#8221; her refusal since 2016 to participate in the national anthem and her repeatedly shouting during the team&#8217;s parade in New York City, &#8220;New York, you&#8217;re the motherf—-ing best!&#8221;
For example, Rapinoe said, &#8220;Every member of the team that I have talked to would not go&#8221; to the White House.
Rapinoe is a great soccer player. Other than that, she is unimpressive. She comes across as arrogant, a fool and a lowlife.
Why a fool? Because she thinks she has something important to say to the American people and that we need to hear it because she is a great soccer player. She is not alone in this conceit. Tom Steyer and other billionaires think the same thing about themselves: that because they are better at making money than almost everybody, they must be wiser than almost everybody.
People who excel in one thing are tempted to think they are smart about everything, but that is almost never the case. There is no reason at all to assume that people who excel in anything (other than wisdom) are wiser than anybody else. And here&#8217;s the kicker (no pun intended): People who think they are wise because they excel at something unrelated to wisdom are fools.
And why is Rapinoe a lowlife? What would you label any adult who constantly used the F-word in public (especially during events when children are expected to be present or watching)? Or does being a star — like the foul-mouthed Robert De Niro — make you less of a lowlife?
The American women&#8217;s soccer team is unified in protesting on behalf of &#8220;equal pay for equal work.&#8221; They regard their team as a perfect example because its members receive less money than members of the U.S. men&#8217;s soccer team — despite the fact that the women have a much better record.
But there is a reason the male players earn more. Among other things — such as the women&#8217;s team&#8217;s vote for financial security in the form of guaranteed salaries rather than revenue share — men&#8217;s soccer generates far more money than women&#8217;s soccer.
According to the Los Angeles Times: FIFA&#8217;s &#8220;2018 financial report said it earned revenue of $5.357 billion from the men&#8217;s tournament in Russia. &#8230; Forbes estimated the Women&#8217;s World Cup will generate about $131 million for the four-year cycle ending in 2022.&#8221;
So, unless people should be paid according to gender (which they now are in Norway) rather than according to revenue and profits, male soccer players will earn more money than female soccer players.
There are only two ways to equitably ensure male and female players earn the same amount of money. One is to pool all the money earned by both teams and then distribute an equal amount to all the players, men and women. The other is to end sex-based teams: Men and women compete to play on one team (composed of both men and women), and any woman who makes the team is guaranteed the same income as any man on the team.
Until then, the women&#8217;s soccer team and the left want to have their cake and eat it, too. (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for example, tweeted this non sequitur: &#8220;Here&#8217;s an idea: If you win 13-0 — the most goals for a single game in World Cup history — you should be paid at least equally to the men&#8217;s team.&#8221;) They want women to have their own soccer teams — because biology has made it impossible for almost any woman to successfully compete with men in sports — yet earn the same amount as men do. But the reality is more people will watch men play soccer, just as more people watch major league baseball than minor league baseball — which is why major league baseball players earn more money than minor league players. But if we applied the equal-pay-for-equal-work principle to baseball, minor league and major league players would be paid the same amount.
With their politicization of their victory, their expletive-filled speech and their publicly expressed contempt for half their fellow citizens, the women of the U.S. women&#8217;s soccer team succeeded in endearing themselves to America&#8217;s left. But they earned the rest of the country&#8217;s disdain, which is sad. We really wanted to love the team.
What we have here is yet another example of perhaps the most important fact in the contemporary world: Everything the left touches, it ruins.
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in April 2018, is &#8220;The Rational Bible,&#8221; a commentary on the book of Exodus. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.

PRAGER: We All Wanted To Love The Women’s Soccer Team

Donald Trump

Trump Administration

Deodorant brand Secret announced Sunday that it will donate $529,000 to help close the alleged gender pay gap for the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Fox Business <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/secret-deodorant-donates-529g-us-womens-soccer-team-gender-pay-gap.amp">reported</a> that the donation makes Secret, a subsidiary of Procter &amp; Gamble, the first U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) sponsor to publicly endorse the players’ claims that they are paid less than men and deserve more. Secret made its announcement in a full-page ad in The New York Times’ Sunday edition.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Full page ad from <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretDeodorant?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretDeodorant</a> in today’s NY Times (main section) announcing their donation and support of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EqualPay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EqualPay</a> for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USWNT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USWNT</a>/<a href="https://twitter.com/USWNTPlayers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USWNTPlayers</a>. <a href="https://t.co/pF6hW2Gh36">pic.twitter.com/pF6hW2Gh36</a>
— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsmeglinehan/status/1150373033300938752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The ad starts by explaining that since there are 23 women on the team, it will donate a total of $23,000 to each player (for a total of $529,000). It then goes on to use certain buzzwords — like “right side of history” — to emphasize its agenda.
“As a partner, we know the U.S. Soccer Federation is an organization of considerable strength,” the ad says (emphasis original.) “It has the strength to be on the right side of history.”
“But after all the toasts, cheers, parades and awards subside, the issue remains. Inequality is about more than pay and players; it’s about values,” the ad continues (emphasis original.) “Let’s take this moment of celebration to propel women’s sports forward. We urge the U.S. Soccer Federation to be a beacon of strength and end gender pay inequality once and for all, for all players.”
The women’s team filed a lawsuit against the Federation earlier this year alleging gender discrimination because they weren’t paid as much as male players. As The Daily Wire <a>wrote</a> last month, much of the discrepancy comes from the differences in revenue the teams bring in and the pay structures outlined in their collective bargaining agreements. When it comes to FIFA, the men’s World Cup brings in far more than the women’s World Cup — at least it did previously. The men’s 2014 World Cup generated $4.5 billion in direct revenue for FIFA, while the women’s cup brought in a fraction of that — in the millions.
But shortly after that article was published, the women’s team released information showing they brought in more revenue for the U.S. Soccer Federation (separate from FIFA) than the men’s team. The women said they brought in $50.8 million in revenue compared to the men’s $49.9 million in revenue. It’s a small difference, but enough to cast doubt on the revenue claims.
The Tampa Bay Times, however, noted the pay issue is <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/nation-world/politifact-does-the-us-womens-soccer-team-bring-in-more-revenue-but-get-paid-less-than-the-men-20190712/">much more complex</a>. The women’s team only out-earned the men’s team in one year — 2016. Every other year the men’s team earned more slightly more. But the women’s team only started even coming close to bringing in as much revenue as the men’s team in the past three years, the Times reported:
<blockquote>Looking year by year, 2016 was actually the only year in which the women’s team generated more revenue from games — $24.11 million, compared to $22.24 million for the men. In 2017, both teams brought in about the same revenue at $14.61 million, and in 2018, the men’s team brought in $13 million compared to the women’s $12.03 million.
This pattern marked a reversal from prior years: In 2014 and 2015, the men’s team earned $8.31 million and $11.71 million more than the women’s team, respectively.</blockquote>
Much of the remaining dispute is more difficult to quantify, the Times reported. The women’s team is starting to bring in more viewership, which has led to increased revenue. The teams also have different collective bargaining agreements. The women earn a base salary and bonuses on top of that, while the men’s team only get bonuses.
The women’s team has been doing better in recent years. A new collective bargaining agreement seems to be what it needs to solve its current pay issues.

Secret Deodorant Becomes First Sponsor To Support US Women’s Claims Of Pay Discrimination, Donates $529K

Left-wing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel apparently is not just committed to going political as much as he personally can on his show, he&#8217;s determined to make his guests go there, too. In an interview with U.S. Women&#8217;s Soccer stars Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan Thursday, Kimmel repeatedly steers the conversation toward the progressive agenda, or — as Rapinoe puts it when he first veers into politics — he deliberately &#8220;stirs the pot,&#8221; again and again.
After inviting on Rapinoe and Morgan — who have both been openly critical of President Trump, particularly the former — Kimmel asks a few introductory questions about their seemingly non-stop celebration since winning the World Cup on Sunday and Rapinoe&#8217;s decision to dye her hair pink/purple. But it doesn&#8217;t take long for Kimmel to start hammering &#8220;equal pay,&#8221; driving a wedge between the U.S. women&#8217;s and men&#8217;s teams, and encouraging the stars to start a boycott.
&#8220;Can you answer this question, because I was thinking about this: Why is the American team, your team, so dominant? Why are you guys so much better than everyone else?&#8221; Kimmel asks, a question that has a predetermined direction, as he quickly reveals (video below).
Rapinoe points to Morgan, then lifts an eyebrow and gestures to her whole body, amid claps from the audience. &#8220;Look at her,&#8221; she says. Morgan doesn&#8217;t have much more of a response saying, simply, &#8220;It&#8217;s a good question, um&#8230;&#8221;
But Kimmel cuts Morgan off before she can finish the thought, and instantly takes a jab at the men&#8217;s team in the process. &#8220;It&#8217;s an interesting question, isn&#8217;t it? It&#8217;s not like that with the men&#8217;s team,&#8221; says Kimmel.
Rapinoe responds with a chiding head tilt and a &#8220;stirring the pot&#8221; motion. &#8220;Jimmy!&#8221; Morgan says, wagging her finger.
Then Kimmel calls for a particular clip of the parade in which the president of U.S. Soccer tells the crowd that they invest more money in women&#8217;s soccer than any country in the world, a statement met with chants of &#8220;Equal Pay! Equal Pay!&#8221; from the crowd.
&#8220;So that&#8217;s the president of U.S. Soccer and this has become a big topic of conversation,&#8221; says Kimmel. &#8220;You want equal pay, and by the way, I think it&#8217;s a mistake. Shouldn&#8217;t you be paid more because you [win more often]?&#8221;
That line draws loud applause and cheers from Kimmel&#8217;s audience.
Kimmel goes on to urge the stars to boycott the next World Cup if they don&#8217;t get equal pay, advice Morgan appears reluctant to fully embrace.
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Kimmel&#8217;s argument for equal pay does not appear to factor in one key detail: the actual money made by men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s soccer. The pay disparity is a result of the dramatic difference in revenues from men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s leagues. When the actual revenues are factored in, U.S. women are actually paid at a higher percentage than men, notes The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/49244/walsh-womens-soccer-players-say-they-deserve-equal-matt-walsh">Matt Walsh</a>. Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/03/07/world-cup-soccer-pay-disparity-between-men-and-women-is-justified/#66cec83e6da4">provided</a> a breakdown of the massive revenue differences between recent World Cups:
<blockquote>As Dwight Jaynes pointed out four years ago after the U.S. women beat Japan to capture the World Cup in Vancouver, there is a big difference in the revenue available to pay the teams. The Women&#8217;s World Cup brought in almost $73 million, of which the players got 13%. The 2010 men&#8217;s World Cup in South Africa made almost $4 billion, of which 9% went to the players.
The men still pull the World Cup money wagon. The men&#8217;s World Cup in Russia generated over $6 billion in revenue, with the participating teams sharing $400 million, less than 7% of revenue. Meanwhile, the Women&#8217;s World Cup is expected to earn $131 million for the full four-year cycle 2019-22 and dole out $30 million to the participating teams.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49244/walsh-womens-soccer-players-say-they-deserve-equal-matt-walsh">WALSH: Women&#8217;s Soccer Players Say They Deserve ‘Equal Pay.’ But The Stats Show That They Are Actually Overpaid.</a>

WATCH: Kimmel Repeatedly Tries To Stir Controversy With Rapinoe, Morgan Interview

Jimmy Kimmel

Team USA

On Thursday, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro invited feminist writer Lauren Duca onto his radio program to debate comments the conservative made about women&#8217;s soccer star player Megan Rapinoe.
Shapiro argued that the U.S. women&#8217;s team should not make as much money as the men&#8217;s team in the World Cup due to a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/03/07/world-cup-soccer-pay-disparity-between-men-and-women-is-justified/#4b7a9c626da4">massive disparity</a> in revenue generated by each team. He also said Ms. Rapinoe racks up sponsorship deals and contracts due to both her far-above average athletic ability and her political activism, such as her widely-covered national anthem protest allegedly for LGBT rights. &#8220;She’s sort of Colin Kaepernick, but with actual talent at her sport,&#8221; Shapiro said.
Duca, apparently attempting to challenge him, told Shapiro in a tweet: &#8220;Lol f*** off, Ben Shapiro. If Megan Rapinoe is getting contracts for any reason other than her talent, it’s because she just provided an entire generation of baby dykes with their awakening moment.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Lol fuck off, Ben Shapiro. If Megan Rapinoe is getting contracts for any reason other than her talent, it’s because she just provided an entire generation of baby dykes with their awakening moment. <a href="https://t.co/js4SEXs3SA">https://t.co/js4SEXs3SA</a>
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurenduca/status/1149337935369711616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Shapiro noted that Ms. Duca’s comment was in basic agreement with his commentary regarding Rapinoe, but told her that if she wanted to come on his show, he’d be &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1149385363477057537">happy</a>&#8221; to discuss the topic. Duca, apparently in disagreement, said her opinion, in part, was for Shapiro to &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/laurenduca?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">STFU</a>&#8221; (shut the f*** up) and agreed to come on his show.
After Shapiro reiterated that it seemed both he and Duca agreed that Rapinoe is getting sponsorships in part for her political LGBT activism, Duca said she was still &#8220;confused&#8221; concerning any agreement.
&#8220;I think it’s very valuable, right, that Megan Rapinoe offers this level of visibility, as a queer woman myself,&#8221; said Duca. &#8220;My heart is just bursting out of my chest. This is just something we don’t really see and it’s brought me to tears multiple times, and I’m so excited about it. I have some criticisms of &#8216;rainbow capitalism,&#8217; but I love to see this level of acceptance around the LGBTQ community and I am really excited about the fact that corporations think that an LGBTQ identity as visible as Megan’s is valuable. So, that’s what I was saying, and it seems to me that you were saying she wasn’t deserving of her success because —.&#8221;
&#8220;Well, that was not my point at all,&#8221; Shapiro interjected. &#8220;What I actually said was that what was making me upset was that Megan Rapinoe’s claim to fame right now, was not merely her sexuality, her sexual orientation — which we’ve seen before, by the way, Abby Wambach famously kissed her partner in 2016 after winning the World Cup.&#8221;
&#8220;I remember that, Ben,&#8221; Duca jumped in. &#8220;That was so hot!&#8221;
&#8220;In any case, the fact that she is a lesbian is part of the story; part of the story is that she’s spent a lot of time complaining about the White House, the United States, talking about how the United States is bigoted and homophobic,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;The point that I was making is you are the beneficiary of an extraordinarily accepting system where corporations are indeed sponsoring you to make ads, where people are indeed celebrating you, where people are paying you inordinate amounts of money to do advertising contracts, in a sport that, ya know, once every four years makes attention but generally does not over the course of American sporting life. And, so, what are you (Rapinoe) complaining about?&#8221;
&#8220;That is not me complaining that a corporation is sponsoring her,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I may have complaints that I think corporations are engaging in exactly what you would call &#8216;rainbow capitalism,&#8217; but that wasn’t actually my complaint. So I’m confused what you’re yelling at me about.&#8221;
Duca responded: &#8220;I think that the confusing comes from there being two very different hierarchical structures at play here. So the United States government is actively eroding LGBTQ rights right now, and there is a pay gap issue that has leveled the advocacy that the U.S. Women’s Soccer team is offering. At the same time, it seems as if these corporations see the LGBTQ identity, which Megan Rapinoe so proudly displays, as valuable. And those are two different things.&#8221;
Duca said Shapiro was &#8220;saying [Rapinoe] is profiting off of victimhood. I saw her with a campaign bottle and trophy. I think that the thing that is happening here is she’s celebrating the LGBTQ identity; corporations also want to do the same, and this is happening concurrently … with the attacks on LGBTQ rights.&#8221;
&#8220;Well, she is not just doing that,&#8221; challenged Shapiro. &#8220;She’s kneeling for the national anthem, obviously; she’s claiming that America is a widespread bigoted country; she’s claiming that America is deeply sexist, and this is resulting in the female pay gap in regard to soccer, which is evidence-free. I mean, this has been fact-checked by everybody from The Washington Post to Snopes. There is not solid evidence that the women are being discriminated against in pay. If you want women’s equity on the women’s World Cup stage you’re going to have to explain how it is that the men’s World Cup earned $6 billion in 2018, and the women’s Would Cup earned $130 million in 2019 and the women and men are supposed to have the same prize money. … In order to receive the same as men, [women] would have to actually earn three times what the entire Would Cup earned for the players themselves, which is just untenable, obviously.&#8221;
Duca answered: &#8220;I hear a lot of numbers, and I do hear what you’re saying and that they are numbers, but I feel like at the crux of this is the question of: Is the United States, overall, a sexist country; is there a problem of LGBTQ representation? I think we can also say that her being so visible in the context of a complete lack of visibility is valuable.&#8221;
&#8220;So you say something in the clip about we’re being made to assume this is delightful, right, and you seem to find it obnoxious,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;But the whole thing is that she has built this level of public-figuredom and absolutely it includes a political element, right? And that it is being deemed valuable, and that perhaps, it does, in fact, it definitely has to do with her identity as an outspoken gay woman; in fact, Ben, I think that’s where we agree.&#8221;
&#8220;So we do agree,&#8221; Shapiro interjected.
Duca went on to suggest the disparity in viewership and general attention between men and women’s soccer is due to sexism. &#8220;Aren’t you saying that men’s soccer is able to create a larger profit margin? What role does the white male identity play in that? It seems to me that where we differ, you think that it’s okay to profit off of identity, it’s just a problem who gets to take home the money, and I’m saying lesbians, too, then, lesbians, too.&#8221;
Shapiro reiterated that the issue is Rapinoe feigning victimhood as an LGBT woman (i.e. kneeling for the anthem) while simultaneously being rewarded for her identity by an overwhelmingly accepting society. He then asked Duca: &#8220;Are you really suggesting that people are watching women’s soccer less because of sexism? Isn’t it just possible that people are watching women’s soccer less because it is not played as high a skill level as men’s soccer? It’s the reason people don’t watch the WNBA the same as they watch the NBA; nobody can dunk in the WNBA.&#8221;
&#8220;Ben, this is so incredibly tired,&#8221; Duca said. &#8220;You’re making a biological difference about skill level on a playing field. I don’t really feel the need to entertain that …&#8221;
&#8220;I know you don’t want to entertain it, but why not?&#8221; Shapiro asked.
&#8220;I’m talking about publicity and acclaim and the level of a public profile that is achieved in accordance with whatever identity the player has,&#8221; she replied. &#8220;And we do tend to celebrate, right, we tend to celebrate men in athletic faces way more than women and that’s why this is so refreshing, right —.&#8221;
&#8220;Serena Williams is pretty well celebrated,&#8221; Shapiro said, noting that Williams is the &#8220;greatest female tennis player of all time.&#8221;
Duca was displeased, saying Williams is the &#8220;greatest athlete&#8221; of all time, male or female.
&#8220;She is not the greatest athlete of all time,&#8221; Shapiro answered. &#8220;She would lose to a good college men’s player; but she is the greatest women’s player of all time.&#8221;
&#8220;Ben, I feel like, I don’t, I, what’s that, is that based on facts or feelings, Ben?&#8221; Duca said.
&#8220;No, that is based absolutely on the United States tennis rankings; they actually have a way of creating a metric —.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s based on the Constitution, that Serena Williams would lose a tennis match to —,&#8221; Duca snarked.
&#8220;No, that’s based on Serena Williams actually losing to two men, one of whom was actually smoking at the time, several years ago at the Australian Open,&#8221; said Shapiro. &#8220;I mean, Serena Williams has admitted this.&#8221;
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LISTEN: Ben Shapiro Debates Feminist Lauren Duca Over Megan Rapinoe Comments

Ben Shapiro

LGBT

Patriotism

Megan Rapinoe, the captain of the World Cup-winning U.S. women’s soccer team, has become the latest ideological thorn lodged underneath the collective skin of conservatives. But Rapinoe kneeling during the national anthem or saying that she isn&#8217;t “going to the f***ing White House” seems downright inoffensive compared to her behavior over the course of the past few days.
Appearing on multiple news outlets, Megan Rapinoe appeared self-centered and divisive. She criticized President Donald Trump, as expected. She made accusations of homophobia, as expected. And an adoring Rachel Maddow called for Rapinoe to run for president, as expected. After famously scoffing at the very notion of interacting with people who hold different opinions, Megan Rapinoe took to the stage during the World Cup victory parade in New York City to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/sports/soccer/soccer-parade.html">call for unity</a>: “This is my charge to everyone: We have to be better, we have to love more and hate less. Listen more and talk less.”
Speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Megan Rapinoe said that she would be willing to have a “substantive conversation” with &#8220;anyone&#8221; &#8230; who &#8220;believes the same things&#8221; as she does. Combine this with her now-infamous admonition to “Listen more and talk less,” and we are getting dangerously close to Animal Farm’s quip: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Rapinoe, after saying she&#8217;ll never visit Trump, gives a &#8220;shoutout&#8221; to <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a> and says she&#8217;ll go to D.C. to have a &#8220;substantive conversation&#8221; with &#8220;anyone&#8221; &#8230; who &#8220;believes the same things we believe in.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/vfhvlybEGT">pic.twitter.com/vfhvlybEGT</a>
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1148763329269313536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The hypocrisy of those on the Left calling for diversity while actively rejecting diversity of thought is certainly nothing new. However, Megan Rapinoe is indicative of a far greater problem.
Rapinoe has been lauded by her supporters as the ultimate leader. The New York Times described her as a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/sports/megan-rapinoe-world-cup.html">Leader for Her Team, and Her Time</a>.” Unwittingly, the specific language used is actually quite apt. During the parade in New York, Rapinoe looked into the camera, holding the World Cup trophy in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other, and belted out, “I deserve this.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mPinoe</a> holding a trophy and a bottle of champagne and yelling “I DESERVE THIS” is a mood, an inspiration, a battle cry for women nationwide <a href="https://t.co/1r9YUDNBxD">pic.twitter.com/1r9YUDNBxD</a>
— Emmy Bengtson (@EmmyA2) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmyA2/status/1148961770301788160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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“I,” not “we.” “Her,” not “our.” Those who are obsessively praising the leadership attributes of Megan Rapinoe prove that they have completely forgotten the virtues of leadership.
Leaders are not selfish. Leaders are selfless. Megan Rapinoe intentionally cast a shadow of controversy over the U.S. women’s World Cup campaign. She used the tournament as a platform to promote her own ideology, rather than pursuing patriotic unity to bridge ever-growing political divides. In return for the decision to promote herself as an activist, she willingly risked alienating potential supporters, thereby damaging her team and her sport.
Rapinoe has been compared to Colin Kaepernick, a similarly divisive figure who almost single-handedly divided NFL audiences by political ideology. While Rapinoe’s activism is built upon success, Kaepernick built his upon failure, timing his protests perfectly with his demotion to the bench. However, both Rapinoe and Kaepernick were leaders of their respective teams, and both were willing to sacrifice their responsibilities as leaders in favor of selfish and divisive objectives. Their actions represent the absolute antithesis of leadership.
Ronald Reagan, arguably the last true leader to have held the office of the presidency, described leadership as follows: “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
When Reagan spoke of “the people.” he was not speaking solely of those “on his team.” He was speaking of every person in the country. For Megan Rapinoe to earn the title of leader for “her time,” she must be a leader for “the people” — and not just “some people.”
Megan Rapinoe has yet to encourage “the people” to “do the greatest things”. Until she focuses on healing and unity, rather than fueling division, she will never be a true leader. Anyone can bring people together who are the same. It takes someone special to bring people together who are different.

HAWORTH: Megan Rapinoe Is No Leader

Let no one claim that the U.S. women&#8217;s soccer team can&#8217;t beat men. They have, in fact, already unseated the 2007 New England Patriots as the most unlikable winning sports team in modern American history. This is an extraordinary accomplishment in its own right, as it is very hard to be both unlikable and a winner in America. Winning covers up many sins. Even Michael Vick was forgiven after he had a decent season with the Eagles. We love winners in our culture, but it is truly hard to love these ladies.
I will be told that this apparent unlikability is due to sexism — my sexism, the system&#8217;s sexism, everyone&#8217;s sexism, the sexism in the water supply. We have trouble liking the women&#8217;s soccer team, and celebrating its successes, because they are women and we are misogynists, or so the story will go. But that excuse doesn&#8217;t hold. Most of the &#8220;misogynists&#8221; criticizing Megan Rapinoe&#8217;s squad still love to see American women take gold at the Olympics. It was easy to root for Simone Biles and Lindsey Vonn. But it&#8217;s not so easy with this particular collection of female athletes.
The reason for the difficulty probably has something to do with incidents like <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailywire.com/news/49243/us-womens-soccer-player-drops-american-flag-ground-joseph-curl%3famp">this</a>, where three of the players dropped the American flag on the ground and stepped on it during the victory celebration. Snopes says it is &#8220;mostly false&#8221; to claim that the women dropped the flag and stepped on it, but that is literally what happened. It was an act of careless disregard rather than political protest, but still, it&#8217;s gross and hard to watch.
It also didn&#8217;t help that the ladies ran around the field gloating gratuitously after easily dispatching vastly inferior teams like Thailand. The whining about &#8220;equal pay&#8221; has added to the insufferability factor, as have the national anthem protests and the constant Trump-bashing. I&#8217;m no Trump sycophant myself, but it&#8217;s annoying when athletes — especially athletes who are supposed to represent America, as a whole — insist on being political. The drunken belligerence isn&#8217;t terribly appealing either, especially when grown adult women are on video <a href="https://twitter.com/mattwalshblog/status/1149373502442614784?s=21">declaring</a>, &#8220;Hide yo kids &#8230; I got the keys to the mothaf***ing city and I&#8217;m coming for all y&#8217;all b*tches.&#8221; It&#8217;s difficult to be likable while speaking like that.
But I think the real problem with this team was encapsulated in one short <a href="https://twitter.com/emmya2/status/1148961770301788160?s=21">video</a> of Megan Rapinoe at the victory parade yesterday. Holding the trophy in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other, Rapinoe twice declared: &#8220;I deserve this.&#8221; When asked what she deserves, she answered, &#8220;Everything.&#8221; This clip has been predictably celebrated by feminists as empowering and inspirational, but many fans of team sports find it extremely off-putting — and for good reason. I imagine even the inspired feminists would see the problem if it were Tom Brady hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and shouting, &#8220;I deserve this.&#8221; But whatever else you might say about Tom Brady, he certainly wouldn&#8217;t do that. Brady knows that he should always give credit to the team — and he does, obsessively so.
It is difficult to root for people who are self-glorifying and narcissistic. And the self-glorifying narcissism of female athletes is even more annoying because it comes dressed as empowerment. There are plenty of jerks playing male sports. But nobody hesitates to call them jerks, and nobody is tempted to hail their jerkiness as a sign of strength. We all just say, &#8220;Wow what a jerk,&#8221; nod in agreement with each other, and move on. Female jerks, on the other hand, will have a whole chorus of cheerleaders welling up with pride and insisting that boorish, stupid behavior from a woman is actually beautiful. And that just makes the behavior all the more irritating to the sane and reasonable among us.
WATCH:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mPinoe</a> holding a trophy and a bottle of champagne and yelling “I DESERVE THIS” is a mood, an inspiration, a battle cry for women nationwide <a href="https://t.co/1r9YUDNBxD">pic.twitter.com/1r9YUDNBxD</a>
— Emmy Bengtson (@EmmyA2) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmyA2/status/1148961770301788160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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WALSH: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Is Very Hard To Like. This Video Shows Why.

The absence of one of the best women’s soccer players in the nation from the national squad that just won the World Cup has prompted questions as to whether she didn’t make the team because of her openly professed Christian faith.
Jaelene Hinkle, 26, “has been called the top left defender in the U.S. game,” according to <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/10/jaelene-hinkles-world-cup-snub-sparks-debate/">The Washington Times</a>. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/christian-views-may-have-kept-star-player-off-us-womens-soccer-team-some-say">Fox News</a> noted Hinkle “helped her team win the NWSL championship and previously helped it win a title in 2016 when it was known as the Western New York Flash.”
But none of that apparently mattered to the women’s team. <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/religious-clash-leaves-usa-s-best-left-back-an-observer-of-world-cup-bid-1.3923456">The Irish Times</a>, which called Hinkle “the finest left-back in the NWSL,” wrote in June, “Hinkle likely would have been a fish out of water on the uber-woke women’s national team, some of whose biggest stars are openly lesbian, raising questions about whether she would have thrown off the squad’s chemistry.”
That’s because Hinkle has been quite open about her Christian faith. In 2015, Hinkle objected publicly to the U.S. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/judiciary/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, writing on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/4aCLOlD9sx/?utm_source=ig_embed">Instagram</a>:
<blockquote>Jesus didn&#8217;t come to save those who already believed in Him. He came so that the lost, rejected, and abandoned men and women would find Him and believe. I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true. It&#8217;s not a fictional book. It&#8217;s not a pick and choose what you want to believe. You either believe it, or you don&#8217;t. This world may change, but Christ and His Word NEVER will.
My heart is that as Christians we don&#8217;t begin to throw a tantrum over what has been brought into law today, but we become that much more loving. That through our love, the lost, rejected, and abandoned find Christ.The rainbow was a convent made between God and all his creation that never again would the world be flooded as it was when He destroyed the world during Noah&#8217;s time. It&#8217;s a constant reminder that no matter how corrupt this world becomes, He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you Lord for your amazing grace, even during times of trial and confusion. 
Love won over 2,000 years ago when the greatest sacrifice of all time was made for ALL mankind.</blockquote>
In 2017, when the women’s team wore special team jerseys celebrating Gay Pride Month for two international matches, Hinkle declined to play. She said on the “700 Club,” “I just felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear this jersey. I gave myself three days to just seek and pray and determine what [God] was asking me to do in this situation.”
Soon after the interview, when her North Carolina Courage team played against the Portland Thorns in Portland, Oregon, fans waving rainbow flags booed Hinkle. The Washington Times noted, “Hinkle has not played for the national team since. After she was left off the World Cup roster, coach Jill Ellis told reporters that the decision was ‘solely based on soccer,’ an explanation greeted with widespread skepticism.” The Times added, “Ellis, who is married to a woman, did call up Hinkle last year for the Tournament of Nations but then cut her and one other player a few days later, fueling speculation that she was invited only to stave off a religious freedom lawsuit.”
Questions have been about Hinkle&#8217;s absence: John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview in Colorado Springs, Colorado, told The Washington Times:
<blockquote>You do have a very activist team. It’s very much a part of the program. And if we were talking about just any player, it wouldn’t be really clear, but just because of her abilities — Jaelene Hinkle is a heck of a player — it makes it that much more suspect … We know that increasingly there is going to have to be conformity on your viewpoint to be able to participate. I think that’s inevitable. We use the phrase “the theology of being fired” — in this case, it’s the theology of being cut.</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Religious clash leaves USA’s best left back an observer of World Cup bid <a href="https://t.co/sfMYK0BLQV">https://t.co/sfMYK0BLQV</a>
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) <a href="https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1148006466936365058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In the interview with the “The 700 Club,” Hinkle stated, ““I’m essentially giving up the one dream little girls dream about their entire life. It was very disappointing. And I think that’s where the peace trumps the disappointment, because I knew in my spirit I was doing the right thing. I knew I was being obedient. Just because you’re obedient doesn’t make it easy … If I never get another national team call-up again then that’s just a part of [God’s] plan, and that’s OK.&#8221;

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Accused Of Snubbing Star Player For Christian Views

Christianity

Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the World Cup-winning U.S. Women&#8217;s Soccer team were honored in New York City Wednesday in a ticker tape parade culminating in a ceremony in front of City Hall. A couple of days before the big celebration, the New York Police Department&#8217;s Hate Crime Task Force started a hate crime investigation related to posters featuring Rapinoe, who is openly gay and emphatically anti-Trump.
&#8220;The New York Police Department&#8217;s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating after posters of USA soccer star Megan Rapinoe were vandalized in a subway station,&#8221; <a href="https://www.wsmv.com/news/nypd-is-investigating-vandalizing-of-megan-rapinoe-posters-as-possible/article_5fc89980-9751-5208-b130-13c5bab3cac6.html">CNN</a> reported Wednesday. &#8220;Eight posters featuring Rapinoe in her US Women&#8217;s National Team jersey included homophobic and defamatory slurs along with the phrase &#8216;screw this h&#8211;,&#8217; the NYPD told CNN.&#8221;
&#8220;Hate has no place in the transit system and we work hard to make the subway a welcoming, safe environment for everyone,&#8221; said MTA Deputy Communications Director Shams Tarek in a statement reported by CNN.
Authorities say the vandalism of the Rapinoe posters was first reported early Monday morning at the West 42nd Street subway station. Some of the vandalized posters were cleaned off, while others were replaced with new posters, Tarek said.
CNN notes that Rapinoe, who was the MVP of the tournament, was given special honor during the celebration Wednesday, walking out last holding the World Cup to raucous applause.
Rapinoe has emphatically presented herself as part of the &#8220;resistance&#8221; against President Trump, describing herself as a &#8220;walking protest&#8221; of his administration because of her identity as an openly gay woman. She was the first high-profile women&#8217;s soccer player to join former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in protesting the national anthem and has continued her anthem protest by refusing to put her hand over her heart after U.S soccer forbid players to kneel, an act she called an &#8220;F you&#8221; to Trump.
In late June, Rapinoe made clear that she would turn down an offer to visit the White House should her team win the World Cup. &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to the f*****g White House,&#8221; she told soccer magazine <a href="https://twitter.com/8by8mag/status/1143595809910530048" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eight By Eight</a> in a brief video interview. &#8220;No. I&#8217;m not going to the White House. We&#8217;re not gonna be invited. I doubt it.&#8221;
Though she suggested Trump wouldn&#8217;t invite them, he has, but not without a sharp rebuke of her anthem protests and disrespect of the White House.
&#8220;I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women&#8217;s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! We haven&#8217;t yet,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/megan-rapinoe-white-house-donald-trump-u-s-womens-national-soccer-team/">tweeted</a> in response to Rapinoe&#8217;s preemptive rejection of an invite. &#8220;We haven&#8217;t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose.&#8221;
&#8220;Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her &amp; the team,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!&#8221;
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Rapinoe&#8217;s teammates Alex Morgan and Ali Krieger have also expressed criticism of the Trump administration and suggested that they would likewise turn down a White House invite.
Despite the public feud, Trump congratulated the team after its big win Sunday, tweeting, &#8220;Congratulations to the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team on winning the World Cup! Great and exciting play. America is proud of you all!&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49305/us-womens-soccer-team-wont-go-white-house-so-james-barrett">U.S. Women’s Soccer Stars Won’t Go To White House, So Pelosi Makes Announcement</a>
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Report: NYPD Investigating Vandalism Of Megan Rapinoe Posters As Hate Crime

Hate Crime

On Wednesday, former president Barack Obama, eager to signify his support for the U.S. national women’s soccer team, some of whose members have expressed open hostility for President Trump and disrespect for the American flag, proudly tweeted a selfie showing him with a custom jersey of the team with his name emblazoned on it while calling the team, “America’s best team.” Obama wrote, “Proud to rep America’s best team! Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/USWNT">@USWNT</a> and thanks for being such a strong inspiration for women and girls—and everybody—all across the country.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Proud to rep America’s best team! Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/USWNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USWNT</a> and thanks for being such a strong inspiration for women and girls—and everybody—all across the country. <a href="https://t.co/9Gp6UTZhEE">pic.twitter.com/9Gp6UTZhEE</a>
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1148940273411661824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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On Sunday, Obama had celebrated the team, tweeting, “Yes! Fourth star. Back to back. Congrats to the record breakers on the <a href="https://twitter.com/USWNT">@USWNT</a>, an incredible team that’s always pushing themselves—and the rest of us—to be even better. Love this team. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneNationOneTeam?src=hash">#OneNationOneTeam</a>.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Yes! Fourth star. Back to back. Congrats to the record breakers on the <a href="https://twitter.com/USWNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USWNT</a>, an incredible team that’s always pushing themselves—and the rest of us—to be even better. Love this team. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneNationOneTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneNationOneTeam</a>
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1147918213952360448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Last week, after teammate Megan Rapinoe had said she would not visit the White House, Alex Morgan of the U.S. women’s soccer team <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-usa-nld/morgan-says-u-s-likely-to-make-a-team-decision-on-trump-invite-idUSKCN1U018Q">seemed to indicate</a> that even if the team got an invitation from President Trump, they might not visit the White House, saying, “I think we will make that decision after we finish Sunday’s game. I think there has been a lot of talk prematurely about the White House and about Trump but first we have to do business and then I think you guys know the answer to the question anyways.” Morgan added that it was unlikely some members might go and some might not, asserting, “I can’t say 100 percent but this team is very close and we have always made decisions together so I can’t really see us deciding to part in that way but at the same time if someone feels strongly then who are we to tell them to do or not do something.”
On Tuesday night, Rapinoe <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/megan-rapinoe-trump-white-house-do-better_n_5d254d81e4b0583e4828f439">stated</a> that the team would not go to the White House, telling Anderson Cooper of CNN, “I would not go and every teammate that I’ve talked to explicitly about it would not go.” She added, “I don’t think anyone on the team has any interest in lending the platform we’ve worked so hard to build and the things that we fight for and the way that we live our lives ― I don’t think we want that to be co-opted or corrupted by this administration. There are so many other people that I would rather talk to and have meaningful conversations that could really affect change in Washington than go to the White House.”
Rapinoe <a href="https://ijr.com/megan-rapinoe-world-cup-white-house-trump/">also stated</a> to reporters, “We’ve said publicly — at least I’ve said publicly, I think most of the team, if not everybody, I think everybody is with me. We don’t want to go to the White House. So I figure that’s why the invitation hasn’t come.”
<a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/what-soccer-team-ex-us-president-barack-obama-support/gzti4wyrgszr1opx4a8ffm9or">GOAL</a> reported in June, “In 2017 it emerged that German club Darmstadt 84 were the only European club Obama followed on Twitter, sparking a frenzy of speculation as to why that was the case. armstadt, who now play in 2. <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/bundesliga/6by3h89i2eykc341oz7lv1ddd">Bundesliga</a>, are not exactly powerhouses of European football, so the fact that USMNT player Terrence Boyd played for them (he has since moved on) was held up as one potential reason.”

Obama Tweets Selfie Wearing U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Jersey, Calls Them ‘America’s Best Team’

Barack Obama

An unidentified hockey coach has lit up social media with a speech to his players about respecting the national anthem, telling them they should go ahead and &#8220;get the f*** out&#8221; if they plan on dishonoring either the American or Canadian national anthems, like players from women&#8217;s soccer and the National Football League.
&#8220;You guys, listen up for a second. First day of camp, something really important,&#8221; the coach, who is yet to be identified, told a locker room full of players. &#8220;We’re not women’s soccer, we’re not the NFL. If there’s anybody here that&#8217;s going to be disrespectful to either the American or the Canadian national anthem, grab your gear and get the f*** out now — because you’ll never see the ice in this arena.&#8221;
&#8220;We don’t have that problem in hockey — we’re better than that — but there was no sense in wasting anybody’s time if that sh** was going to happen,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe it would happen here. We&#8217;re the most patriotic sport that they have out there. So, just keep that in mind. Thank you.&#8221;
The viral video was posted on Facebook at least a week ago:
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The speech also made its way to Twitter this week (h/t <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/07/09/hockey-coach-national-anthem-womens-soccer-twitter/">The DC</a>):
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Coach tells players if you’re going to disrespect the national anthem, get the f*ck out <a href="https://t.co/YT7IXa7yVO">pic.twitter.com/YT7IXa7yVO</a>
— Wojciech Pawelczyk (@PolishPatriotTM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PolishPatriotTM/status/1148352675320385537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The coach&#8217;s mention of women&#8217;s soccer is a clear reference to the anthem protests staged by U.S. Women&#8217;s Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who has joined former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in protesting during the playing of &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner.&#8221; In response to the U.S. team forbidding kneeling during the anthem, Rapinoe has maintained her protest by refusing to place her hand over her heart.
Rapinoe, along with a few other high-profile players on the team, has made a point of publicly criticizing President Trump. Rapinoe, who describes herself as a &#8220;walking protest&#8221; against his administration, apparently because of her identity as a gay woman, also preemptively rejected an offer to visit the White House should they win the World Cup, as the team did Sunday.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to the f***ing White House,&#8221; Rapinoe told soccer magazine Eight By Eight in late June. &#8220;No. I&#8217;m not going to the White House. We&#8217;re not gonna be invited. I doubt it.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">“I’m not going to the fucking White House.” &#8211; <a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mPinoe</a> <a href="https://t.co/sz1ADG2WdT">pic.twitter.com/sz1ADG2WdT</a>
— Eight by Eight (@8by8mag) <a href="https://twitter.com/8by8mag/status/1143595809910530048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In response, Trump tweeted: &#8220;I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women&#8217;s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! &#8230; We haven&#8217;t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose.&#8221; As for her protest of the anthem and his administration, Trump said: &#8220;Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her &amp; the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!&#8221;
With multiple U.S. Women&#8217;s Soccer players saying they will not accept an invite to the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally offered an <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/49305/us-womens-soccer-team-wont-go-white-house-so-james-barrett">invitation </a>to the team on Monday to visit Capitol Hill.
Kaepernick started the anthem protest movement during the NFL&#8217;s 2016 preseason, when he was still riding the bench for the 49ers. After refusing to stand to honor the flag, the quarterback said, &#8220;I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,&#8221; Kaepernick told the press. &#8220;To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49305/us-womens-soccer-team-wont-go-white-house-so-james-barrett">U.S. Women’s Soccer Stars Won’t Go To White House, So Pelosi Makes Announcement </a>
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WATCH: Hockey Coach’s Viral Message To Players About Respecting The Flag: ‘We’re Not Women’s Soccer’

Michael Knowles interviews Daily Wire 2 sports correspondent Jeremy Boreing about the women’s World Cup and the victory of Team USA on Monday’s episode of “The Michael Knowles Show.” Video and transcript below:
Michael Knowles: The world of sports has been rocked by the Women&#8217;s National Team and Megan Rapinoe. But as you know, I am employed by The Daily Wire and my show is hosted on The Daily Wire. When we want to get to great sports coverage, we have to turn to our sister network, Daily Wire 2, and our Daily Wire 2 sports correspondent, Jeremy the verified god-king Boreing!
Jeremy Boreing: Yowza! Michael, now with verified. Bold but not old. Enormous news, Michael, from the world of sports ball. As for the second time in a row America has proven conclusively that our team is greater than all of the women&#8217;s soccer teams in the world. By our team, I mean the FC Dallas under 15 boys Academy. A squad of 15-year-old and younger lads not quite athletic enough to play football or baseball or even basketball. But who are nevertheless better than America&#8217;s national women&#8217;s team who, in turn, is better than all of the other women&#8217;s national teams from all the other nations who let women play sports ball. This, Michael, despite the overwhelming pay disparity between the female players who reportedly picked up a quarter of a million dollars each for the last game they won and the scarcely pubescent male players whose only compensation for their victory was getting to skip third period for the game and having a shot at the fourth hottest girls in school. Those not quite hot enough to date the high school football or baseball or even basketball players.
Nevertheless, as no average teenage male was yet allowed in the twice-a-year global tournament known as the FIFA Women&#8217;s World Cup, America&#8217;s women&#8217;s national team emerged victorious in a competition, handily defeating Holland, a nation literally filled with Dutch. They won by a score, Michael, of 2-0. The pride of America celebrated their win by trampling the flag of the nation they were being paid to represent during a cute little girl dance and bitching incessantly about how they aren&#8217;t paid the same as men to do the exact same job. Completely missing the point that their job is not, in fact, to kick a sports ball but to generate revenue in the form of ticket sales, merchandise, and TV licensing rights, which they do not do.
International media was quick to provide context for the women&#8217;s nagging by pointing out that men and women are exactly the same because men are famous for nagging. The media also completely ignored the fact that the men&#8217;s World Cup generates a literal order of magnitude more money than the women&#8217;s sport because, and I swear I&#8217;m not making this up, there is a sport people care less about than men&#8217;s soccer.
The media did stick it the president, Donald Trump, however, reporting on how a group of young people calling themselves Americans despite clear on camera evidence that they were watching girls play soccer in public in France were cursing the US president after Team USA&#8217;s win. Donald Trump is reported to have responded by saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to be president for life,&#8221; and then drinking from a Daily Wire Leftist Tears Hot or Cold Tumbler available to annual subscribers at DailyWire.com/subscribe. Get yours now.
But as if that&#8217;s not enough information about a sport neither one of us knows anything about, there&#8217;s more. America&#8217;s national men&#8217;s team also competed in a soccer match this weekend, the Gold Cup. Which I can only assume is an even bigger deal than the World Cup, since it&#8217;s gold. They lost however to America&#8217;s southern neighbor Mexico, proving yet again that this is a pathetic non-sport game of chance that in no way represents national greatness and that we should, in fact, build the wall on our southern border immediately to keep our male soccer players in this country where they can&#8217;t humiliate us abroad by losing a child&#8217;s game to a near third world narco-state. Build the wall. Build the wall. Build the wall. Yowza!
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Michael Knowles: Wasn&#8217;t the Gold Cup played in Chicago?
Jeremy Boreing: How the hell would I know Michael?! I&#8217;m just the Daily Wire 2 sports correspondent.
Michael Knowles: Just fabulous coverage as always. I can&#8217;t wait till the World Cup happens again next year and we can do it all again.
Jeremy Boreing: You know I have to admit that this was a subpar performance on my part which I think is appropriate for a subpar sport. It turns out there&#8217;s just not that much funny to say about the women&#8217;s World Cup.
Michael Knowles: If there were, I think you would have found it but unfortunately you along with the rest of the world could find no humor in that sport. Great coverage as always from Jeremy, the now verified, god-king Boreing.
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-michael-knowles-show/id1266577963?mt=2">Download full episode of &#8220;The Michael Knowles Show&#8221; on iTunes.</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/michael-knowles-show">Watch &#8220;The Michael Knowles Show&#8221; on-demand!</a>

KNOWLES: This May Change Your View On The Women’s World Cup

Conservatism

Europe

France

Jeremy Boreing

Michael Knowles

I&#8217;m not much of a soccer fan because I prefer watching sports, personally, but I was still happy to hear that the U.S. women&#8217;s team won the World Cup over the weekend. I am far less enthused by the &#8220;gender pay gap&#8221; <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-womens-world-cup-win-sets-off-immediate-calls-for-equal-pay-today-2019-07-07/">discussion</a> that their victory inevitably generated, however.
The <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/07/sport/uswnt-equal-pay-trnd/index.html">players</a> on the women&#8217;s team, along with the <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/451900-crowd-chants-equal-pay-after-us-womens-soccer-world-cup-victory">fans</a> in the stadium, various <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-gender/presidential-candidates-back-u-s-womens-soccer-teams-pay-equality-demands-idUSKCN1TI1OI">presidential candidates</a>, and a chorus of other feminists, have all insisted that female soccer players are the victims of a sexist wage gap. After all, they are paid less than male players, and misogyny is the only conceivable reason for this disparity. It is time, we are told, to rectify this injustice.
But is there any truth to these claims? Are women in soccer underpaid? If there is a gender pay gap, could there be a reasonable, non-bigoted explanation for it? Let&#8217;s take a look at the facts.
First, we should clarify a crucial point. You&#8217;ve probably heard that the women should be paid more because they&#8217;re better and they earn more revenue. Both of those claims are extremely misleading. It&#8217;s true that the women&#8217;s team is more successful against women than the men&#8217;s team is against men. That does not mean that the women are actually better players. Keep in mind that the U.S. women&#8217;s team <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/a-dallas-fc-under-15-boys-squad-beat-the-u-s-womens-national-team-in-a-scrimmage/">lost</a> to a bunch of 13- and 14-year-old boys a few years ago. If they couldn&#8217;t beat adolescent boys, they can&#8217;t beat grown men.
As for revenue, historically U.S. men&#8217;s soccer has generated more revenue than U.S. women&#8217;s soccer. That gap has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/us-womens-soccer-games-now-generate-more-revenue-than-mens.html">closed in recent years</a>, and now the women generate slightly more than the men — though this only takes into account ticket sales, not TV deals and merchandise. But the pay gap in U.S. soccer is not nearly as large as advertised. The highest-paid female soccer players in this country are paid almost the same as the highest-paid male soccer players. The pay gap in U.S. soccer only widens among the lower-tier players. The top stars are already on a very similar pay scale, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/sports/soccer/usmnt-uswnt-soccer-equal-pay.html">The New York Times</a> notes:
<blockquote>According to figures provided by U.S. Soccer, since 2008 it has paid 12 players at least $1 million. Six of those players were men, and six were women. And the women hold their own near the top of the pay scale; the best-paid woman made about $1.2 million from 2008 to 2015, while the top man made $1.4 million in the same period. Some women in the top 10 even made more than their male counterparts over those years.</blockquote>
The really significant pay gap, and the one that gets most of the press, is in the World Cup payouts. FIFA, the international soccer organization, will give about $400 million to male players in the World Cup, while female players will make around $30 million. When you hear that male players make 10 times what female players make, this is the figure that justifies the claim.
<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/earthquakes/womens-world-cup-megan-rapinoe-slams-fifa-over-gender-pay-gap-scheduling">Megan Rapinoe</a> has specifically condemned FIFA for this pay gap, and the FIFA president was booed over the issue after the World Cup in France. The fans in France weren&#8217;t chanting &#8220;equal pay&#8221; because they want equal pay just in U.S. soccer, where the pay for top stars is already close to equal. They want it internationally, where the pay is definitely not close to equal. But that inequality, as Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/03/07/world-cup-soccer-pay-disparity-between-men-and-women-is-justified/#66cec83e6da4">explains</a>, is entirely due to the astronomical disparity in revenue:
<blockquote>As Dwight Jaynes pointed out four years ago after the U.S. women beat Japan to capture the World Cup in Vancouver, there is a big difference in the revenue available to pay the teams. The Women&#8217;s World Cup brought in almost $73 million, of which the players got 13%. The 2010 men&#8217;s World Cup in South Africa made almost $4 billion, of which 9% went to the players.
The men still pull the World Cup money wagon. The men&#8217;s World Cup in Russia generated over $6 billion in revenue, with the participating teams sharing $400 million, less than 7% of revenue. Meanwhile, the Women&#8217;s World Cup is expected to earn $131 million for the full four-year cycle 2019-22 and dole out $30 million to the participating teams.</blockquote>
So that is $6 billion v. $131 million. The women aren&#8217;t even in the same universe, in terms of revenue. If the women were paid the same total as the men — $400 million — they would be making nearly four times more than they generate. The men make 7% of their revenue. The women apparently want 400% of theirs. That&#8217;s absurd, obviously, to say the least.
Megan Rapinoe, humble as always, will settle for just a meager <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/earthquakes/womens-world-cup-megan-rapinoe-slams-fifa-over-gender-pay-gap-scheduling">quadrupling</a> of their prize money. But $30 million quadrupled is $120 million. That would be close to 100 percent of their revenue. Again: The men only make 7%. Already, the women are earning around 20%. Indeed, if we want to be &#8220;fair&#8221; and &#8220;equal,&#8221; we must conclude that the women are overpaid. Or else the men are underpaid. Either way, on an international scale, if there is a gender pay gap, women are the beneficiaries of it.

WALSH: Women’s Soccer Players Say They Deserve ‘Equal Pay.’ But The Stats Show That They Are Actually Overpaid.

The U.S. women&#8217;s soccer team won the World Cup on Sunday, but in the process continued its trend of creating controversy.
Minutes after the 2-0 game ended in Lyon, France, U.S. midfielder Allie Long was holding an American flag when forward Megan Rapinoe urged her to join in on a choreographed celebration for the cameras.
To do so, Long simply dropped Old Glory on the ground.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/ALLIE_LONG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ALLIE_LONG</a> I understand the excitement of the moment, but please NEVER disrespect the flag by dropping it on the ground! <a href="https://t.co/OdPJqAP6r4">pic.twitter.com/OdPJqAP6r4</a>
— Poetic Spaniard (@PoeticSpaniard) <a href="https://twitter.com/PoeticSpaniard/status/1147927706807312385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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U.S. player Kelley O’Hara, who was forced to the sidelines after a hard collision left her with concussion-like symptoms, quickly jumped in to pick up the flag.
Twitterers were not happy.
&#8220;Drop the flag for some self glory. Perfectly sums them up,&#8221; one wrote.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">Drop the flag for some self glory. Perfectly sums them up
— bluefan25 (@obijohntaynobi) <a href="https://twitter.com/obijohntaynobi/status/1148044392445489159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I think it’s GREAT the woman’s soccer team won but don’t disrespect the American Flag by dragging it on the ground and dropping it just to take a picture. WAY too many damn men and women died to protect what that flag stands for,&#8221; another wrote.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">I think it’s GREAT the woman’s soccer team won but don’t disrespect the American Flag by dragging it on the ground and dropping it just to take a picture. WAY too many damn men and women died to protect what that flag stands for.
— Matthew Foster (@trainthrivept) <a href="https://twitter.com/trainthrivept/status/1148030614215565312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Hi @ALLIE_LONG we all want to celebrate this awesome victory with you but when players disrespect our flag, you make it impossible for the vast majority of the country,&#8221; wrote yet another.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Hi <a href="https://twitter.com/ALLIE_LONG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ALLIE_LONG</a> we all want to celebrate this awesome victory with you but when players disrespect our flag, you make it impossible for the vast majority of the country. cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/ussoccer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ussoccer</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/USWNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USWNT</a> <a href="https://t.co/Uj6sTvZWgQ">https://t.co/Uj6sTvZWgQ</a>
— Ryan Petty (@rpetty) <a href="https://twitter.com/rpetty/status/1147978900770869249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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One wrote the incident &#8220;wasn’t an accident. It was clearly a continuing of the disrespect for our flag and our country.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">It wasn’t an accident. It was clearly a continuing of the disrespect for our flag and our country.
— Taking Back Our Country (@mcleodmaga) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcleodmaga/status/1148217215675555843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. team has been mired in controversy since the beginning of the World Cup. After scoring the second goal in the World Cup for a 2-1 win over England last Tuesday, player Alex Morgan celebrated by pretending to drink a cup of tea, hoisting a pinkie in the air.
That poor sportsmanship didn&#8217;t go over well with a former England player.
“I expected Alex to grab a goal but I’m not that happy with that celebration,” said Lianne Sanderson. “You can celebrate how you want, but for me that is a bit distasteful, and I don’t think she needs to do that.”
“For me, I could be wrong, but it’s based upon playing against England,” said Sanderson, who played for England&#8217;s team that came in third in 2015. “We love our tea in England. I’m not a tea drinker, but that’s what we’re connected with, so I think it’s a little bit distasteful.”
The team was also criticized for their opening 13-0 win over Thailand, in which they celebrated joyously after each and every goal. Then Rapinoe, the team&#8217;s star player and top scorer, was ripped for saying if the team wins the World Cup, she&#8217;s &#8220;not going to the f***ing White House.&#8221;
Some on Twitter blamed Rapinoe for the flag debacle after their win.
&#8220;Rapinoe had a Chance to hold the American Flag but she pushed it away and instead the Red White and a blue got tossed to the ground. Wouldn&#8217;t one be proud and happy especially after winning a world Championship to Hold up their Country&#8217;s Flag Up in front of the world,&#8221; one person wrote.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">Rapinoe had a Chance to hold the American Flag but she pushed it away and instead the Red White and a blue got tossed to the ground. Wouldn&#8217;t one be proud and happy especially after winning a world Championship to Hold up their Country&#8217;s Flag Up in front of the world.
— Michael Hodgson (@revelation_66) <a href="https://twitter.com/revelation_66/status/1148036840445767681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In the end, O&#8217;Hara was praised for rushing in to pick up the flag.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">THANK YOU Kelly O’Hara for picking up our national treasure after being dropped on the ground!! She gets it! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USAFlag?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USAFlag</a>
— Sarah Polymathe (@SPolymathe) <a href="https://twitter.com/SPolymathe/status/1147994138060759041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">Whoever ran over to pick it up is my hero
— Count Chocula’s Cavity (@s_cavity) <a href="https://twitter.com/s_cavity/status/1148006825993953280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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And one Twitterer summed up the situation in many critics&#8217; eyes.
&#8220;Typical #allaboutme The name on the front of the jersey means a heck of a lot more than the name on the back.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">Typical <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/allaboutme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#allaboutme</a> The name on the front of the jersey means a heck of a lot more than the name on the back.
— Chip Abernathy (@92agz) <a href="https://twitter.com/92agz/status/1148086449050390528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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