Women’s Football still fighting for equality

Two stories over this past week have highlighted a disturbing fact — despite the progress of women’s soccer over the past two decades, it is still not afforded the respect that men’s soccer receives. The first story involves the controversy related to Sydney Leroux’s goal celebration in last Sunday’s United States women’s national team game against Canada. After she scored in the 93rd minute of the match, Leroux pulled the U.S. Soccer crest on her jersey and flashed it at the Canadian crowd before “shooshing” the crowd with a finger held over her lips. Many took Leroux’s actions as a sign of disrespect and taunting because Leroux, who was born in Canada and was eligible to play for both the Canadian women’s national team and the USWNT, chose to play for the U.S. However, what many failed to understand was that Leroux’s actions were actually a reaction to the abuse she had suffered from many CanWNT fans leading up to and during the game (that abuse has continued after the game as well).

When you chant racial slurs, taunt me and talk about my family don’t be mad when I shush you and show pride in what I represent. #america - tweeted Leroux.

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