U.S. Soccer sued the union representing the world champion United States women’s national team in federal court on Wednesday, a sudden escalation of a labor fight over the team’s collective bargaining agreement.
In the lawsuit, U.S. Soccer is seeking to have a court rule that the terms of the agreement — which expired in 2012 but has remained the guiding document over the relationship between the federation and star players like Hope Solo and Alex Morgan — remains valid.
U.S. Soccer said in the filing that it “reluctantly” brought the action against its players, who won the Women’s World Cup in Canada over the summer, after the lawyer for the players threatened to repudiate the agreement.