Dear President,

Wouldn't you think that male and female athletes get paid the same? Well that's not true. There have been many reports of this occurring, including the US Women's soccer team. In 2015, they won their third World Cup, beating Japan 5-2, yet the Men's US team were still getting paid more. New York Times wrote a report on the situation saying that the women are only making a quarter of what the men make. The women became furious and decided it was time to do something about the situation. There were wage discrimination complaints made by 5 of the top players that month. Both sides were given an opportunity to make their case, and what they found was a complicated battlefield. Some people were saying that the men's team brings in more revenue than the women's team so it's fair, but studies were shown, that was not true. Because the women won The World Cup that year, they brought in $23 million, $16 million more than they were expecting. US soccer officials have had discussions recently about moving to make the per Diem and appearance payments match immediately. I am really hoping that this issue will be taken care of and male and female athletes will get equal pay. 

Sincerely, Lauren Adler

Das, Andrew. "Pay Disparity in U.S. Soccer? It's Complicated." The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/sports/soccer/usmnt-uswnt-soccer-equal-pay.html. Apr. 21, 2016. Accessed on Nov. 2, 2016.

Futterman, Matthew. "U.S. Soccer Files Defense Against Equal-Pay Complaint." http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-soccer-files-defense-against-equal-pay-complaint-1464749792 Wisconsin State Journal. Wsj, May 31, 2016. Accessed on Nov. 4, 2016.

TODAYNBC. "U.S. Women's Soccer Team: It's Our 'Responsibility' 'To Push For Equal Pay' l TODAY." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDXuIHe0O2Q. YouTube. YouTube, Mar. 31, 2016. Web. Accessed on Nov. 3, 2016.