Two days of mediation talks between U.S. Soccer and the U.S. women’s national team playes broke down in New York City on Wednesday, and the players’ side said as a result their gender-discrimination lawsuit against the federation would now head back to the court system.
“We entered this week’s mediation with representatives of USSF full of hope,” the players’ spokesperson, Molly Levinson, said in a statement. “Today we must conclude these meetings sorely disappointed in the federation’s determination to perpetuate fundamentally discriminatory workplace conditions and behavior. It is clear that USSF, including its board of directors and president Carlos Cordeiro, fully intend to continue to compensate women players less than men.