User:Kristenzima/sandboxdraft

Female athletes' actions
Some professional female athletes have taken steps forward to oppose the pay gap. The women's US soccer team has been especially vocal on this topic. The women's team's past includes placing in the top three for the World Cup for three decades, yet the players don't believe that their pay reflects their success. In 2019 a player on the US men's soccer team would be payed $1.1 million if they won the world cup. In the same year, a player on the US women's team would be payed $261,000 for a 1st place victory. When a team qualifies for the World Cup, there are built in bonuses when the team places in the top three. If the men's team were to place first, each player would receive a bonus of around half a million dollars. Comparing this to the women teams, a first place win would guarantee each player a bonus of under $100,000. After years began to go by with no changes made to equalize pay, the entire USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against US soccer. The specific accusations included unequal pay, medical treatment, transportation, and poor working conditions. Their efforts ultimately made minimal advances, but the team still remains and continues to be an active part in the gender equality movement. Although the USWNT is a leader in this movement, one of the most noteworthy cases happens in tennis. In 2006, American tennis player Venus Williams wrote an open letter to the London Times after she won the championship of Wimbledon but received lower prize money compared with her male counterpart. In that letter, Williams questioned that the disparity in prize money disregards female's hard work and Wimbledon conveys a faulty value. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at that time, started to focus on the issue of the pay disparity in sports. In the followed year, Wimbledon adjusted the prize money structure and offered an equal amount of prize money to male and female athletes. Williams' letter drew the attention of the public and was later featured in a special series for ESPN, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Title IX amendment, ensuring gender equality in any college program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.