USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan to appeal judge’s equal pay ruling

United States forward Megan Rapinoe, right, arrives with Alex Morgan to attend the Best FIFA soccer awards, in Milan's La Scala theater, northern Italy, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)(Luca Bruno/AP)

On Friday, a federal judge threw out the U.S. Women’s National Team’s unequal pay claim in their $66 million lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation. But two of the team’s biggest stars say that the fight isn’t over yet.

Appearing on “Good Morning America” on Monday, both Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan said that the team plans to appeal the decision from U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner. In his decision, Klausner claimed that the U.S. women chose their pay structure in their collective bargaining agreement — one with lower bonuses but higher base compensation and guarantees. Just because the women’s team could have been paid more under the men’s structure, Klausner ruled, doesn’t make the situation illegal.

In the TV interview, the Olympic gold medalists and two-time World Cup winners each said that they were surprised by the decision.

“This is definitely a hurdle in the road but it’s nothing that’s going to stop or deter us from what we have always been true to, and that’s true equality in the sport,” Morgan said. “We are still feeling optimistic and we’ll get through this.”

Rapinoe added that she was frustrated by the judge’s characterization of the CBA negotiations, which she claimed overstated the options available to the women.

“To say that we negotiated for our contract and that’s what we agreed to, I think so many women can understand what this feeling is, of going into a negotiation knowing equal pay is not on the table, knowing anywhere close to your male counterparts is not even on the table,” she said.

Despite throwing out the equal pay claim, Klausner allowed allegations of discrimination in travel accommodations and medical support to stand. The trial is still scheduled for June 16.