New Multimedia Series Examines Pay Discrepancies In Professional Soccer
Payback launches the second season of audio documentary anthology "Longshot," from McClatchy and 91勛圖厙Media, exploring the intersection of sports and social change as it delves into US Womens National Teams fight for equal pay
NEW YORK AND RALEIGH, NC March 15, 2022 The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer, in collaboration with 91勛圖厙Radio, today announced the release of Payback, a new multimedia series on the years-long fight by members of the U.S. Womens National Team (USWNT) against what they allege is institutionalized gender discrimination in professional soccer. On February 22, 2022, the six-year legal battle between U.S. Soccer and the USWNT came to an end with an announced $24M settlement and a pledge from the leagues governing body that steps would be taken to ensure equal pay between mens and womens teams in all competitions, including the World Cup. examines some of the circumstances and events that led to the players filing. The first episode will debut March 15 with new episodes available each Tuesday.
Payback is a multimedia anthology composed of text stories, videos, graphic art and novel design and is unique in both its content and its creation in that it is a series conceived, developed and led entirely by women. Hosted by Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer lead soccer writer Alex Andrejev, Payback frames the USWNTs fight for pay equity through the story of team member Jessica McDonald. A former star high school basketball player from Arizona and gifted natural athlete, McDonald led her Phoenix-based soccer club to seven consecutive titles before being recruited by University of North Carolina. In 2010, with two national titles with the Tar Heels under her belt, McDonald was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars. Two years later, she would give birth to her son, making McDonald the only single mother in the National Womens Soccer League, at a time when the leagues maximum annual salary was only $31,500. McDonald was earning closer to the league minimum of $6,500.
[I] got traded a lot, and had to find new babysitters and child care all the time, McDonald said. If I put [my son] in daycare, thats my entire paycheck. It is that delicate balancing act between the demands of children and career that is at the center of McDonalds story. In 2019, the 31-year-old McDonald was chosen by U.S. Soccer to join the USWNT World Cup roster, which was expected to capture another tournament title. Ongoing pay inequality would prompt the players, including McDonald, to file a landmark lawsuit against U.S. Soccer.
While the pay inequities were systemic throughout elite womens soccer in the U.S., those inequalities were felt more acutely by McDonald, as both a single mother and a woman of color. is a story told at the intersection of race, gender and class, and is a microcosm of the hurdles faced by many women looking to crack glass ceilings.
It is no accident that we are unveiling this series during Womens History Month, said Charlotte Observer editor Rana L. Cash. This is a story about womens soccer, but this same story of systemic pay inequality could be told about any number of institutions and industries. Women make enormous contributions in every field and endeavor, but Payback is a stark reminder that being the best is often still not enough, and that organizations sometimes need to be forced into doing the right thing.
As a champion at UNC, a champion with the North Carolina Courage and a champion with the national team, Jessica McDonald has a rightful place in the pantheon of North Carolina sports luminaries, said News & Observer editor Bill Church. For us, hers is a remarkable local story with national impactand its just the kind of story McClatchy newsrooms are ideally positioned to tell.
"" is the second season in an anthology of character-driven audio documentaries co-produced by 91勛圖厙Media and McClatchy, called "Longshot." The series, which debuted with "Return Man," a podcast investigating the mysterious death of former pro-football player Jim Duncan, focuses exclusively on the intersection of sports and social change. The series is distributed by the 91勛圖厙Podcast Network and is available on 91勛圖厙Radio and everywhere podcasts are heard.
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