Women’s National Team to boycott IIHF World Championship

In a statement shared across social media on Wednesday, members of the U.S. Women’s National Team announced that they will not be participating in the IIHF Women’s World Championships unless “significant progress” is made in their fight for equal wages.

Here’s the full statement, as shared by team captain Meghan Duggan:

The statement has been retweeted with resounding support from other athletes, including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team. Morgan herself recently stated in an interview with The Guardian that she and her teammates may also go on strike if fairer conditions are not established.

USA Hockey responded with a statement of its own, stating that it is “disappointed” that the players have chosen to boycott, but “USA Hockey remains committed to continuing dialogue and will field a competitive team for the upcoming 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Plymouth, Michigan.”

The organization attempted to defend itself by claiming that players will be paid $85,000 for training for and participating in the 2018 Olympics, “in addition to a housing allowance, travel allowances, meal expenses, medical and disability insurance and the infrastructure that includes elite-level support staff to train and prepare the players.” This seems like a lot of money until you do the math and realize that Jonathan Quick, goalie for the LA Kings and U.S. Men’s Olympic team, makes $82,352 per NHL game.

Needless to say, the players are not satisfied with this response, especially since the organization does not express any sense of urgency to resolve the inequality.

Our friends over at The Ice Garden have a more detailed breakdown of the issue, which we highly recommend you check out.

We’ll provide you with more information as it is released.