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The USWNT has had enough.
In the wake of an interview with Fox Soccer in which Alex Morgan called out US Soccer for failing to protect its female players, the USWNT may end up boycotting the seventh game of their World Cup Victory Tour in Hawaii.
Numerous players tweeted their frustration with US Soccer, culminating in Hope Solo sending out a picture of the field they are expected to play on against Trinidad & Tobago.
Our loyal fans: Thanks for standing with us against unsafe field conditions & standing tall for #equal treatment pic.twitter.com/abn560Kitw
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) December 6, 2015
Yes it was bad enough playing a WC on that and we thought it would have stopped there and it didn't. https://t.co/VwZPS27rMi
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) December 6, 2015
Now Laura Vecsey with Fox Soccer is reporting that the USWNT has decided not to play in light of the dangerous field conditions.
From what I'm hearing, the #USWNT will not play at Aloha Stadium tomorrow. Perhaps team voted to boycott bad field conditions. @FOXSoccer
— laura vecsey (@lauravecsey) December 6, 2015
To be clear, this is not just about the field conditions at this one stadium. Based on players' tweets, this confrontation between players and federation has been building up for some time and has finally boiled over with both practice field and the game field considered sub-standard.
Players like Abby Wambach have been very vocal since before the World Cup about the lower standard of treatment they receive compared to the men's team, with playing on bad surfaces acting as the crux of their complaints (see also: their issues with the wage gap between teams). And with US Soccer often bending over backwards to ensure its men's team plays on grass - even if laying grass over turf is decried as an imperfect solution that is often worse than turf itself - their complaints would seem to have credence.
Players are accusing US Soccer of not doing its due diligence when it comes to the USWNT. A spokesperson for US Soccer couldn't even confirm if someone had vetted the field at Aloha Stadium. With money and reputation on the line, we'll see how this contest of wills between the USWNT and USSF plays out.
UPDATE: According to local news, the game has been called off.
BREAKING: Tomorrow's #USWNT match vs. Trinidad & Tobago at Aloha Stadium has been called off due to safety concerns with the turf #HISports
— Sam Spangler (@SamSpanglerKHON) December 6, 2015