The lawsuit is seeking financial damages as well as the end to what it calls discriminatory practices
Twenty-eight members of the United States women’s national team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation on Friday.
The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles, comes just three months before the team begins its World Cup defense in France.
The players are seeking the court's recognition of their legal rights under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Five USWNT players filed a wage discrimination lawsuit in 2016 and with that matter yet to be resolved, the matter has now been escalated.
The USSF has "paid only lip service to gender equality and continues to practice gender-based discrimination against its champion female employees on the WNT in comparison to its less successful male employees on the MNT," the suit charges.
The suit says it is looking to end the discriminatory practices and is also seeking punitive damages – which would likely equal millions of dollars.
The plaintiffs are headed by Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn. The rest of the 24 players suing are listed in alphabetical order, a sign the four veteran players are leading the charge.