By Jake Bramande

Medill Reports

After the United States Women’s national soccer team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019, their class-action lawsuit against US Soccer for equal pay became national news. Just a few weeks ago, the women’s team continued their dominance by winning the SheBelieves cup. Their first tournament appearance and victory since the World Cup reignited the equal pay debate.

Why is a team dominating global international soccer getting paid less than the US Men’s team, which failed to even qualify for the last men’s world cup? The video below explains the two team’s separate collective bargaining agreements, analyses the judge’s decision, and highlights key findings from the 32-page ruling. With HBO announcing this week a documentary about the team’s lawsuit, this story and the fight for equality continues.

Jake Bramande is a sports reporter at Medill. You can follow him on Twitter at @JakeBramande.