Former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo took issue with the landmark equal pay settlement her teammates reached with the U.S. Soccer Federation earlier this year.
Her USWNT teammates are pushing back, saying in a new court filing obtained by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan that Solo objected “on grounds that lack any merit.”
In 2019, a group of 28 USWNT players, including Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer. Those players reached a proposed $24 million settlement in February, with a final approval hearing set for Dec. 5.
Solo filed an objection to the settlement in October.
“Without knowing how much each player … will be paid, or when we will get paid, it’s impossible for players to determine whether or not the proposed settlement and whatever payment we each receive is fair, adequate or reasonable,” she said in a statement.
A new court filing submitted Tuesday by the USWNT players responded to Solo’s complaints, particularly that she did not know how much money she would receive from the settlement.
“That information was always going to be provided,” the filing reads, “and she has been informed that her expected pro rata allocation of the settlement fund is $339,999 after attorneys’ fees and costs.”
Solo filed a separate lawsuit against U.S. Soccer in August 2018 for violating the federal Equal Pay Act. That case has not yet gone to trial, and the USWNT players make clear in the new filing that the structure of their settlement specifically allows for Solo to continue her individual legal claim.
U.S. Soccer already has paid the first $5.5 million of the settlement into an account set up for that purpose, Linehan reported. The court filing also includes proposed amounts for every player who is part of the settlement.
