U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe accepted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s invitation Monday to visit Capitol Hill, while reiterating her opposition to visit the White House.
Rapinoe said she was looking forward to discussing equal pay with Schumer during her visit. Rapinoe and the U.S. Women’s National Team won its second straight World Cup on Sunday defeating the Netherlands 2-0. (RELATED: Megan Rapinoe Responds To Criticism: ‘I’m Very Deeply American’)
“Thank you, Chuck Schumer, for inviting us out,” Rapinoe said. “We are very happy to accept your invitation to come.”
Rapinoe added that she still has no interest in visiting the White House, and said that she thinks “everybody is with me.”
Rapinoe made waves last month when she declared that the team was not ‘”going to the f**king White House,” due to her opposition to President Donald Trump.
In a speech on the senate floor Monday, Schumer praised the team and echoed their call for equal pay. (RELATED: Megan Rapinoe’s Girlfriend Sue Bird Compares Trump Criticism To ‘Out Of Body Experience’)
“They’ve shone a light on the fact that in our society women are simply not treated fairly because of their gender,” Schumer said.
What the #USWNT did was extraordinary, and they deserve to be compensated fairly.
All women need to be compensated fairly. Period.
And we ought to pay attention to this not just once every four years during the World Cup, but year-in and year-out. pic.twitter.com/gtWgiHS2PH
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 8, 2019
Rapinoe and the rest of the team have demanded to be paid at the same level as the U.S. men’s national team, citing their success compared to the futility of U.S. men’s soccer. However, despite the disparities in on-field success, analysis has shown that the women’s World Cup generates just a fraction of what the men’s World Cup does.
In 2018, FIFA made $400 million available to men playing in the World Cup, and just $30 million to women.