Stephen A. Smith is ‘Disgusted’ with ‘Dumb’ Men for Dismissing the USWNT’s Ability to Earn Equal Pay

The USWNT reached a settlement in their equal pay dispute with the US Soccer Federation (USSF) this week, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is appalled that the issue had to be brought to court.

“As a man, I’m both sad and disgusted. Because as men, we’re exposed,” Smith ranted Wednesday on First Take. “Why the hell did it take a lawsuit for this to happen?”

“Some of these men who are in these leadership positions are so either deaf, dumb and blind or so aloof, so dismissive about the elements of fairness,” Smith continued. “These women should not have had to sue them for this opportunity. For equity. They should not have had to go through this at all!”

The legal dispute stemmed from 2019, when members of the USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against US Soccer on International Women’s Day. After initially seeking almost $67 million in damages to make up for past differences between the men’s and women’s World Cup prize money, the USWNT eventually settled for $22 million.

“In France in 2019, they had won their second straight World Cup,” Smith explained. “They’re representing your nation. What ever happened to they’re ours? Let’s take care of them the way that we would take care of the fellas. What happened to that?”

FIFA allocates and distributes payouts for the men’s and women’s World Cup champion teams. The USWNT reached a collective bargaining agreement with the USSF in 2017, a deal that was set to expire in 2021 when they filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the federation after their 2019 World Cup win.

“I can’t help but feel a bit sour about the men who are in these positions of power that were willing to be dismissive and to diminish what these women’s contributions was to our country, to the sport, to equality across the globe,” Smith said.

“We’re a democracy. This is the United States of America we’re talking about here. And you were willing to keep these women down and treat them in an inequitable fashion until they took you to court.”

Watch above via ESPN

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com