Stars of USWNT support Canada in latest labor dispute
Rapinoe, Morgan and Sauerbraunn show support for Canada’s national team
As you open the door to a new world, make sure you greet the newcomers who walk in.
Becky Sauerbrunn, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan are three of the biggest names in women’s soccer, so it’s not surprising that US soccer legends support the women of Canadian soccer.
Canada’s national team shook the football world when they threatened to drop out of the SheBelieves Cup tournament. The Football Canada Association threatened legal action that could result in a multi-million dollar liability suit against the players. According to the players, their fight “goes beyond the financial” and more for better investments in the women’s brand.
“We’re with them 100 percent and of course we know exactly what they’re going through, how difficult it is to do all that off the field and have to perform,” Mean Rapinoe said on Wednesday, just 24 hours before the USA against them face off against border rivals in the first game of the SheBelieves Cup.
“I think you should plan to watch some things for tomorrow’s game,” Sauerbrunn told ESPN. “Whether it’s declarations or protests on the pitch, I think there will be things that we organize and we fully support them.”
The USWNT is no stranger to this situation; changed the landscape of women’s sport with her equal pay win over the US Soccer Association. Like Canada, USWNT was looking for a better investment after becoming the dominant brand in global soccer.
And some might argue that Canada hasn’t accomplished as much as the USWNT in its 40-year history, but who has? Canada is a strong brand in women’s soccer, having won the 2020 Olympics and is represented by one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Christine Sinclair.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s tense,” Sinclair said. “I’ve been on this team for a very long time and it’s been a constant struggle with the CSA to try and field progressive CBAs. The problems we are facing right now as men and women [teams]something has to change.”
The Canadian men’s team fully supports the women.
Rapinoe mentioned that she’s surprised the CSA treats reigning Olympic champions this way, but we’ve also seen the US Soccer Association battle the USWNT after winning two world titles. Labor disputes in women’s sports were rarely discussed in the media until recently, when the USWNT threatened to suspend the crucial 1996 Olympics. Since then, the USWNT has pushed the bar until it found the winning formula for women in CBA disputes.
“It doesn’t matter to me if England wins Euros the way they did, or the WNBA and their new CBA, or the ice hockey team, or our team, the NWSL, now Canada,” Rapinoe said. “Off the pitch we all play on the same team so everything feels like a snowball effect. I realize our team is one of the first to do it, one of the loudest to do, and one of the most successful to do on and off the field. I think we’re very proud of that.”
Fans will be watching with interest as the two teams take the field tonight to see the support the USWNT will show the Canadian players.
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