The triumphant US women’s national soccer team has returned, still fresh from their victory of the World Cup, and were given a ticker tape parade by the New York City for their achievement.
Thousands came out to greet the team led by soccer co-captain Megan Rapinoe and her teammates, who waved at the crowds and brandished bottles of Champagne.
Their victory has also cheered supporters of pay equity, given that the women’s national team has showed that they’re as good or even better than the men’s national team, who are paid higher.
The victorious US women’s national soccer team
The parade stretched for hours as people crowded New York City’s Canyon of Heroes, that part of lower Broadway that has always given ticker tape parades for famous visitors and homegrown heroes.
The team were on a float together with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and US Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro.
On the float, Rapinoe gave her famous victory pose while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher held up the World Cup trophy for everyone to see.
Rapinoe drank from a bottle of Champagne and then gave the bottle to a fan. After the parade, the team were given the keys to the city by de Blasio.
The US women’s soccer national team against pay inequity
Before the women’s team had gone on the World Cup, they had filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation for gender and pay discrimination.
As an example of pay inequity, the team will get US$4 million for winning the FIFA World Cup. However, the men’s French team got US$38 million for their win last year.
What’s more, the women’s team will get bonuses five times less than the men’s team would have earned if they win the World Cup.
The team’s advocacy has already garnered support from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who signed a law to expand gender pay equality in the state.
Meanwhile, Democrat US Senator Joe Manchin proposed a bill that would bar federal funding for the men’s 2026 World Cup until the US Soccer Federation gives equal pay to both teams.
The best way to push for pay equity
But even as supporters voiced their delight at the team’s victory, pay equity also got another boost with the confetti used during the ticker tape was the team’s lawsuit.
In a video posted to her Instagram Story, US women’s national team member Ashlynn Harris showed the lawsuit as confetti and the caption read: “Pay us…”
In the video, she also crumpled a piece of the lawsuit in her hand and said, “Our lawsuit– in the fuckin trees, bitch!” Team midfielder Alexandra Long could also be seen in the video eating a page of the lawsuit.
The team had decided to shred their lawsuit after the federation had agreed to sit down with the players’ lawyers in mediation.
Women lawyers at the Woolworth Building in New York City also got into the action by including in the confetti a page from law books’ listing of the Equal Pay Act.
Check out highlights from the parade here:
