Part 5/8:
The controversy extended into the realm of gender equality, with Rapinoe leading a campaign for equal pay for women soccer players—despite the fact that the women’s team generates significantly less revenue than the men’s team. This has led to the women’s team receiving support funded by the profits of the men's team, raising questions about fairness and the basis of their financial backing.
Some critics argue that the women's team could, at least in principle, "pay their own way" or serve a different purpose other than their athletic performance—perhaps in alternative roles more aligned with their activism, or in more humorous or satirical contexts, such as joking that they could at least "have sex" with the men’s team if they supported them financially.