The U.S. women's national soccer team is heading to the courtroom.
All 28 members of the national squad's current pool of players filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation on Friday.
The suit said that although female and male U.S. soccer players perform the same job responsibilities, the female players — despite producing superior on-field results — are paid less money. Historically, the women's team is one of the best teams in the world and they have three World Cup trophies and 4 Olympic gold medals to show for it. The men's side, on the other hand, failed to qualify for last year's World Cup.
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The suit cites that if both the men's and women's teams played twenty friendlies per year, male players would earn $260,320 to the female players' $99,000.
"Each of us is extremely proud to wear the United States jersey, and we also take seriously the responsibility that comes with that," forward Alex Morgan said in a statement. "We believe that fighting for gender equality in sports is a part of that responsibility."
The lawsuit comes just three months before the FIFA Women's World Cup, which will take place in France in June, when the U.S. side will look to defend their 2015 title.
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