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USWNT Stands Strong in Fight For Equality

byTatum Riley
March 18, 2017

The US Women’s National Team announced that they would not be participating in the 2017 World Championships due to stalled negotiations over fair wages and support from USA Hockey.

Several players released this statement on the matter.

This isn’t the first time that the treatment of women in sports has been called into question, and this definitely isn’t a first for USA Hockey. A recent example of this was on International Women’s Day when USA Hockey Twitter avoided recognizing the day, and ignored several tweets from National Team Members. The US Women’s National Team’s Facebook page which has 34,000 likes recognized the day, while USA Hockey’s page which has 330,000+ likes, neglected to talk about it.

This isn’t proof in any way, but it gives us a perspective of how the team is treated.

As a result of the boycott, USA Hockey released another statement.

In summary, this says that USA Hockey views both men’s and women’s teams as equal. A good thought, but an ignorant one since women don’t get the same opportunities in hockey as men do, and they don’t have equal representation which would help them to spread the sport.

There are very few options for women in the hockey world. They can play in the CWHL, which does not currently provide salaries for its players, or in the NWHL, which just cut player salaries that were well below living wage. Their next option is to play for the national team, but only if they’re good enough. This still means that players need a second or third job outside of hockey to be able to fully support themselves.

The US Women’s National Team responded to the statement made by USA Hockey.

In their statement, USA Hockey says they aren’t paying their players as employees, which is technically true since they aren’t playing their players at all. US captain Meghan Duggan says the USA Hockey statement in response to players is “completely misleading and dishonest.”

USA Hockey gave the women a deadline (Thursday 3/16 at 5PM ET) to declare whether or not they will follow through with their boycott, or if they will play for the World Championships. This deadline has since passed, and the WNT stands firm with their beliefs.

“We were aware of USA Hockey’s deadline and have allowed it to pass,” the players said in a statement. “We are focused on the issue of equitable support and stand by our position. We continue to be grateful for the encouragement and loyalty of our fans.”

“That’s a deadline that was subjective from USA Hockey to put pressure on us to fold,” Hilary Knight said to the New York Times. “But everyone’s very passionate and extremely united.”

This was not the result that USA Hockey was looking for, and they have now decided to “look elsewhere” for players since the women did not adhere to the deadline.

Hilary Knight, who plays for the Boston Pride in the NWHL and for the US national team gave her response to USA Hockey: “Good luck getting a suitable No. 1 competition to represent our country on a world stage. I kind of dare them.” On why now: “We were sick of sitting around the same table and discussing the same issues and getting upset over the same pettiness.”

“We have heard that USA Hockey is attempting to field an alternative team to play in the World Championship games,” the players told USA TODAY Sports. “We regret that they have not instead chosen to reconsider their treatment of the current World Championship-winning team. We stand by our original position: that it is time USA Hockey supported its programs for women and girls at the level it provides to boys and men. And we are grateful for the support we’ve received from across the world for our stance on this subject.”

As USA Hockey began looking for new players, the NWHL released a statement, “The NWHL Stands Behind the Women of the US National Team in Their Quest for Equality.” This states that no NWHL player will compete in the World Championships under this strike, nor will any other USWNT member or U18 player.

After the passing of the deadline and statement from the NWHL about acquiring players, USA Hockey edited their statement on the passed deadline saying it was “not considered line in the sand.” Multiple NHL players have now shown their support as the negotiations keep going on.

You can read the full statement here. This is what USA Hockey has proposed so far…

“USA Hockey has offered terms to the Women’s National Team players for the Olympic training and performance period that include the opportunity to be provided with more than $90,000 in training stipends and other performance incentives for gold-medal performances in both the upcoming IIHF Women’s World Championship and the Olympic Winter Games. In the case of silver-medal performances in both events, players could receive $74,000 each. USA Hockey’s offer to the players is more than 50% greater than what they received in 2014. These figures do not include other substantial expenditures by USA Hockey for housing stipends, travel allowances, meal expenses, medical and disability insurance and the infrastructure that includes elite level support staff to train and prepare the players.

In non-Olympic years, players are typically together at various times throughout the year for approximately 60-70 days, for two competitions and three to four camps. Most players receive $24,000 each in cash training stipends, allocated by USA Hockey through funding provided by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Players are also eligible for a performance bonus up to $7,500 for winning gold in the world championship. Those funds are in addition to other expenditures for housing, travel, meals, insurance and the infrastructure that includes elite level support staff to train and prepare the players, a total that exceeds $1 million annually.”

Noticeably unaddressed by USA Hockey in their statements: the further funding of girl’s hockey programs and the avoidance why the players won’t be paid a living wage.

If somehow USA Hockey finds the players to field a team, wherever they get them from, they will be embarrassed on home ice. That will show how valuable the players of the USWNT are and hopefully will further the fight for equality in the sport.

Author
Tatum Riley
Tatum is 16 years old and located in Chicago. She spends her time on twitter talking about social justice, climate change, hockey, and the importance of the space program. She wishes to study languages and pursue a career in the arts.
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