Washington DC (April 12, 2016) ― Today, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) joined a bipartisan group of 110 Members of the House of Representatives writing to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to support the members of the U.S. Women’s National Team in their filing of a federal complaint.

Recently, five soccer players accused the U.S. Soccer Federation of wage discrimination, citing the fact that they earn as little as 40 percent of what players on the U.S. Men’s National Team earn.

“Now more than ever, women are single heads of household and primary breadwinners for their families. By continuing to pay them less than their male counterparts, we limit how they support those families, and we reduce their significant potential as consumers in our economy,” said Watson Coleman.

“On average, women make 79 cents for every dollar that a man earns ― and that gap widens even more for women of color. Whether they’re on the soccer field, in a boardroom, or anywhere else women deserve equal pay. This team earned the title of world champion, and just like any other elite athlete they’ve earned the compensation to go along with that title.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team is world renowned. Last year, the team produced nearly $20 million in revenues and secured a World Cup victory. In the process, the team broke television rating records, delivering 25.4 million viewers in the final match alone, as compared to the men's record of 18.2 million in 2014.

The facts make it clear that any argument that the wage discrimination is based on anything other than gender discrimination has no basis.