Hope Solo Instagram – This settlement is not a “huge win.” It’s heartbreaking and infuriating. A “promise” of equal pay from the Federation and backpay for a select group of players isn’t equal pay and it’s not what this fight was about. Read the fine print. “Contingent upon the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement.” It doesn’t exist yet and is not guaranteed. If the players had ever been successful in negotiating an equal CBA, there would’ve been no reason to sue the Federation in the first place. Six years ago, we started the fight for equal pay, something I’m very proud to say I led when I pushed to bring on a new Players Association Executive Director, Rich Nichols, someone I knew would truly fight for us and give us the tools to challenge a Federation that marginalized us for decades. His strategy to file the EEOC complaint was the boldest action any team had ever taken. It wasn’t an easy ask of anyone, and at the time, the decision went against the wishes of other players on the team now being called the “leaders” of this fight. Throughout the entire process, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan were the two most agreeable with the Federation and to this day, continue to to accept terms that are nowhere near what we set out to do. They both know this is not a win. They know it’s an easy out of a fight they were never really in. The players who got us to where we are today are people like Christie Rampone who stepped up to interview with the EEOC. She and I were the only two players to do so. Players like Christie, Abby Wambach, Shannon Boxx, Heather O’Reilly, Amy Rodriguez, Sydney Leroux, Lauren Cheney, Lori Chalupny and everyone else on the 2015 team who set this fight in motion will not benefit from the selfishness and inequality of this settlement. It also guarantees nothing to the next generation of players. The equal pay case against US Soccer I filed on behalf of the Team long before the Team sued, still stands and I remain committed to fighting for all players — past, present and future.