U.S. women to boycott World Championships over stalled wage negotiations
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The U.S. women’s national team, who has won each of the last three
World Hockey Championships, will not participate in this year’s
tournament due to stalled negotiations with USA Hockey over fair wages
and support.
This year’s tournament begins on March 31 in Plymouth, Michigan. The
U.S. team was set to begin training camp on March 21 but, on Wednesday,
informed USA Hockey they wouldn’t participate unless there was
significant development in negotiations.
“We are asking for a living wage and for USA Hockey to fully support
its programs for women and girls and stop treating us like an
afterthought,” said captain Meghan Duggan, per ESPN. “We have represented our country with dignity and deserve to be treated with fairness and respect.”
More on the situation, from ESPN:
Half of the current team works second
and third jobs just so they can continue to afford to play on the
national team and represent their country.
“Out of a four-year cycle, USA Hockey
pays for only six months out of an entire four years. They pay us $1,000
per month in those six months. So, for the other 42 months we don’t get
paid at all by USA Hockey,” says Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, a
two-time Olympic silver medalist. “It is a full-time job and to not get
paid is a financial burden and stress on the players, obviously.
“That is the conversation my husband
and I are having right now. Is playing going to be more stress than we
can handle? Sadly it becomes a decision between chasing your dream or
giving in to the reality of the financial burden.”
The U.S. has won gold in six of the past eight world championships
and has medaled in every Olympics, including winning gold in 1998. This
is also the first time in four years the Worlds will to be played on
American soil.
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