In a display of sportsmanship and collective protest, the U.S. and Canadian women’s soccer teams both wore purple and white tape around their wrists on Thursday in a dual call for gender equality and the rights of transgender people.
At the U.S. vs. Canada SheBelieves Cup game on Thursday night in Florida, the Canadian players also wore purple T-shirts with the handwritten message: “Enough is enough.”
The purple tape and T-shirts were worn in reaction to the Canadian team’s ongoing protest against the Canada Soccer Federation. The colour purple, which is commonly associated with gender equality, represented the Canadian team’s outrage at the federation’s decision to significantly cut funding to the women’s team and their programming.
The Canadian women’s soccer team has claimed the budget cuts have compromised their training and preparation for the Women’s World Cup, which begins in July in Australia and New Zealand.
According to a statement from the Canadian Player’s Association, the Canadian players “will continue to wear purple until our association has standards in place that ensure equal treatment and opportunity.”
When the Canadian women’s team initiated a strike on Feb. 10, they originally said they would not play in the SheBelieves Cup. The Canadian Players Association released a statement the following day, claiming Canada Soccer told the women’s team their strike was “unlawful.”
“They told us that if we did not return to work — and did not commit today to playing in Thursday’s game against the United States — that they would not only take legal action to force us back to the pitch but would consider taking steps to collect what could be millions of dollars in damages from our Players’ Association and from each of the individual players currently in camp,” the statement reads.
“As individual players who have received no compensation yet for any of our work for Canada Soccer in 2022, we cannot afford the risks that personal action against us by Canada Soccer will create.”
The U.S. women’s soccer team released a statement confirming they stand with the Canadian team.
“Although we are now on the other side of this fight and can focus on our play on the field, our counterparts in Canada and elsewhere are experiencing the same pervasive misogyny and unequal treatment that we faced,” the statement reads, as per CBS Sports. In 2022, the American women’s team reached a US$24 million equal pay agreement with their soccer federation.
“We stand with all women’s footballers in calling attention to their collective fight, but also call on everyone to join and support the fight to eradicate ALL inequality and discrimination that exists in our sport,” the statement concluded.
The white tape worn by both teams included the message “Defend trans joy.” The tape was donned in response to new legislation in Florida, where the match was played, that will bar minors from receiving hormones or undergoing medical procedures to treat gender dysphoria.
Before the game’s kickoff, both teams met at the halfway line to join arms in a circular show of solidarity.
In the end, the U.S. won the match 2-0, with both goals scored by Mallory Swanson in the game’s first half.