The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer (Caitlin Murray)
Chapter 2: "I Just Want to Play Soccer"
Murray delves into the processes that led to Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm becoming the first women soccer players to earn meaningful sponsorship agreements with Umbro and Nike, respectively.
These sponsorships were key because there were no professional leagues for women to play in, and the stipends players earned for their time with the U.S. Women's National Team were too modest to provide a living wage.
Murray highlights some of the disparities between resources for the women's national team and the men's national team, including the anecdote of Shannon Higgins wearing the hand-me-down #3 uniform of our her men's team counterpart John Doyle, a 6'3," 200-pound defender. She also tells the story of how most of the players in the women's program were forced to choose between a subsistence lifestyle, or quitting the game in order to find a job that provided more economic security.
No comments:
Post a Comment