U.S. Women’s Soccer has been fighting a very public battle for pay parity for years.
World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Hope Solo joined Cheddar for a special #chedHER day of programming to discuss how the wide gap has affected her life.
“Even being among the best soccer players in the world, I wasn’t making a good enough living,” she told Cheddar in an interview. “I had to supplement my income by doing appearances, by doing photo shoots, oftentimes having my former agent try to convince me to do things like Playboy.”
Solo and her teammates filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Soccer Federation back in 2016 to protest the disparities between men’s and women’s salaries in the sport.
The men, who failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup after a stunning loss to Trinidad and Tobago in 2017, have not had much luck at the biggest events.
But they reportedly get paid four times as much as their female counterparts, who incidentally have brought home three World Cups and four Olympic Golds.
Part of the reason, Solo says, is broad pay inequity that plagues so many industries. But it also has to do with how the athletes are portrayed in the media.
“We sexualize female athletes,” she told Cheddar. “Before every Olympic Game, many different media come out with a list of the sexiest female athletes. If you scroll down on any article, maybe about me, you’ll see at the very bottom, women on Sports Illustrated covers.”
The women’s team reached an agreement with the sport’s governing body last year, but it stopped short of mandating equal pay for both teams.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/hope-solo-on-closing-the-gender-pay-gap-in-sports).
The sports world has been at the forefront of dealing with the pandemic ever since the NBA temporarily halted operations in March 2020 and opted to play in their Florida bubble. As the omicron variant and current COVID surge forces game postponements and player quarantines, how leagues manage to continue operations through the outbreaks could be a sign of what is to come for the general public. Dr. Robby Sikka, chair of the COVID Sports Society Workgroup and a former VP with the Minnesota Timberwolves, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the ways in which the NBA, NHL, and NFL are innovating amid the disruptions.
Tom Shannon, Bowlero CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss the decision to bring the company to the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger with Isos Acquisition Corporation. Shannon said one of the goals of the public offering is to expand operations internationally, noting that Bowlero has the potential to reach worldwide markets due to the sport's popularity. "Bowling is a global market, and I'll give you an example. In South Korea, there are three million league bowlers and 1,200 bowling centers in South Korea alone," he said.
Stefan Olander, Co-Founder of Omorpho, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how they are bringing innovation into athleticwear by creating 'gravity sportswear.'
This year on Black Friday, the National Basketball Players Association launched a traveling NBPA-branded holiday pop-up called 'NBPA 450 Gives.' This was a 14-day long experiential and digital activation showcasing the best gifts for this holiday season, featuring items from black-owned businesses to celebrate Google's black-owned Friday initiative. JD sat down with Brooklyn Nets player, Blake Griffin, who helped launch this initiative.
We're entering a brave new world of broadly legal sports betting. Over 30 states and Washington, DC, have legalized sports betting in the year and a half since the supreme court struck down the federal ban on the activity.
But legalization isn't a simple proposition. The federal law might be struck down but its still up to each state to decide whether to legalize sports betting, and answer a litany of questions that come with it. Should you include online gambling? How much should people be allowed to bet? Should there be limits on advertising for sports betting?
Darren Heitner, founder of Heitner Legal, and Daniel Wallach, founder of Wallach Legal, join None of the Above's "Business of Sports: The Year Gambling Took Over" special to discuss.
Carlo and Baker cover the latest data showing the Omicron wave has likely started, Pfizer's Covid pill, Jan. 6 and a box office rescue attempt courtesy of Spider-Man.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is slated to be the home of Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. The stadium was completed in July 2020 for a price tag of $1.8 billion.
