Let's talk
about women soccer players.
They're the big stars
in the States,
with all the money
and the glory of the men.
Well, except for the money part,
as Hasan Minhaj reports.
MINHAJ: Superstar athletes
 have the life.
 We're talking cars, jets.
 Even their pet albino tigers
 get cars.
 But not all pro athletes
 are happy with the big bucks.
 In fact, the women's soccer
 team is taking legal action
 because they want more!
Players on the U.S. women's
national soccer team say
 they're being discriminated
 against because they make less
than members of the men's team.
REPORTER:
 Filed a federal complaint
 against
 the U.S. Soccer Federation.
MINHAJ:
 I sat down with three members
of the U.S. women's soccer team
 to find out
 why they're being so greedy.
We're not being greedy. We're
just fighting for what's right.
Our contributions
to the federation should be seen
as equal
to what the men have done.
Fine. Whatever.
But you need to understand
that the men made it to the
round of 16 in the World Cup.
Well, we've won
three World Cups.
Well, they are ranked 30th
in the world.
We're ranked number one.
Um, they play with so much...
passion.
We have
four Olympic gold medals.
 Humblebrags. Okay.
 But how much less
 could their pay possibly be?
If we win a match,
we get $1,300.
-The men,
they get around $17,000. -Whoa.
If the men's team loses,
they make $5,000.
Five Gs if you lose!
Could you imagine
having that much money?
Can't really imagine it
because we don't get paid
anything if we lose.
Maybe that's why you guys
don't lose.
Silver lining.
(bleep) kidding me?
Why don't you guys
just pick up second jobs?
Uber driving.
After your guys' games,
surge pricing
will definitely be high.
Boom. You're driving fans home
at 1.5, maybe 2, 3x.
We don't have time
to go be an Uber driver.
We put in our time to win
gold medals for this team.
 While
 the U.S. Soccer Federation
 has their own interpretation
 of the pay differences,
 the bottom line is
 the women want them
 to level the playing field.
 Oh, and they also want them
 to literally level
 the playing field.
 They're constantly forced
 to play on Astroturf,
 even at the World Cup,
 something that the men's team
 has never had to do.
-They don't play on turf?
-Not one game.
 Others would argue
 that the women's soccer team
 should be grateful
 just to play.
 Like Gavin McInnes.
 Sure, he looks
 like an art school dropout
 with a Shins cover band,
 but he has his own show
 and is a Fox News contributor.
Women do earn less in America
because they choose to.
 Yep, not surprisingly,
 he thinks the women's lawsuit
 is a waste of time.
Men's soccer has been getting
ten times the eyeballs.
 You know what, I'm gonna let
 the ladies handle this one.
-Well, we actually broke
the record -Yeah.
for the most watched soccer game
in the history of America
between men or women.
You're playing a man's game,
by a man's rules.
This is the way it is
in our world.
You got to earn it.
No, we've brought in,
what, 17 million this past year.
The men lost $2 million
in profit
for the federation
this last year.
U.S. men's soccer still gets
a lot more enthusiasm.
Now, why is that?
Is that because
men's soccer is more
interesting, more exciting?
Gavin, you're down two-nothing.
 You know what,
 let me try to help you.
Name
three U.S. men's soccer players.
Current, we have Bobby Daniels.
 Bobby Daniels.
 Okay, let's check the list.
 Nope. Not a player.
Zigler Norris.
 Also not a player.
And a guy we...
known to everyone as Junebug.
 Come on, man. If you're gonna
 make up fake names,
 do better than Junebug.
 If lunatics like this
 are against the women,
 who's on their side?
-Billie Jean King.
-100%.
I mean, she's done so much
for women's sports.
Who is that?
Tennis player.
I don't... I don't...
REPORTER:
 Tennis star Billie Jean King
 has long been campaigning
 for women's rights.
MINHAJ: Damn.
 Turns out Billie Jean King
 is a badass tennis player
 but also she paved the way
 for equal pay in tennis
 when she defeated Bobby Riggs
 in the 1973 Battle
 of the Sexes.
 Let me get this straight,
all you did was defeat a man,
and now you have equal pay
in tennis. Problem solved.
(chuckles)
It wasn't easy peasy, man.
-When I played Bobby Riggs,
-Mm-hmm.
that was about social change.
Our ratio of prize money
was about eight-to-one,
and I think the women's soccer
is four-to-one.
-And I know what you're gonna
say. "Improvement." -Progress.
-Yeah.
-Improvement's not enough.
We're supposed to be so happy
if we get one crumb.
"Oh, thank you.
I'm so grateful."
-You're welcome.
-We deserve the cake, the icing,
and the cherry on top, too,
just like the boys.
So let's put some cleats on you,
you play the men,
and let's get them ladies paid.
You're missing the point.
Okay. I will play the women.
Do you honestly think
you can keep up
with the women's soccer players?
Seriously?
♪ ♪
 We will do a battle
 of the sexes, BJK-style,
because it worked for tennis.
-No.
-No. We'd crush you.
Bobby Riggs was a champion
in his sport.
We didn't even know who you were
until today.
Um, I've played two years
of AYSO.
 I was in the fourth grade.
 And I have also won trophies
for effort.
This is definitely
a different level than that.
 Okay, fine, so the battle
 of the sexes is a bad idea.
 What else can we do?
KING: People have
 to get to know us.
So we need
to really get behind women,
get behind them with money,
exposure,
give 'em more commercials.
MINHAJ:
 A commercial! Yes.
 I can see it now.
♪ ♪
WOMAN:
 You can defy the odds.
SOLO: I became one of
 the best players in the world
at the age of 17.
WOMAN:
 You can be great.
I scored a game-winning PK
in a World Cup.
 You can make history.
We won three World Cups
and four Olympic gold medals.
You can aspire to be less than.
-(whispers): Less than. 
-Wait. What did you say?
 You can be just as good
 as any other person,
 as long as that person
 doesn't have a penis.
-(whispers): A penis. 
-Are you kidding me?
And for all that hard work,
you can make four times less
than a man.
I don't think so.
♪ ♪
 You can treat us equally.
 You can give us grass
 to play on.
You can pay us what we deserve.
MINHAJ (pained groan):
 Please do it.
