Jeffrey McWhorter/Associated Press
The judge in the United States women’s soccer team’s lawsuit rejected the players’ claims for equal pay on Friday, delivering a crushing blow to the team’s five-year campaign against the United States Soccer Federation.
The judge, R. Gary Klausner of United States District Court for the Central District of California, sided with the federation’s argument in what is called a motion for summary judgment. Effectively, he dismissed the players’ arguments that they were systematically underpaid by U.S. Soccer in comparison with the men’s national team.
Klausner’s decision preserved the players’ claims about unequal treatment in housing, travel and other areas.