Women's Soccer

The Harvard men’s soccer team has been suspended for the remainder of the season by the University following an investigation over an appalling "scouting report" that ranked women’s team players.

A quick refresher: USWNT star Megan Rapinoe chose to join other athletes in kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner". We first saw Rapinoe participate in the silent protest on September 15, 2016, and that was not the last of it. Various athletes are refusing to stand during the anthem to draw attention to racial injustice in this country.

Is there a diversity problem in women’s soccer? As other sports have made strides to include players of all ethnicities, most youth, college and professional women’s soccer teams in the USA are still mainly comprised of white players.

This lack of diversity has led organizations to try and overcome the problem, and over the past few years, strides have been made to make the sport more inclusive, but it just doesn’t seem to have come far enough.

Barriers To Diversity

“Stop playing like a girl.”

Five words that can quickly bring down someone’s motivation and self-esteem. Over the years, this stereotype has been used as an insult for both boys and girls. It’s a simple way of telling someone they aren’t good enough. Over time, women have done their best to break this harmful stereotypes. Luckily, there are a growing number of celebrities and role models speaking out for gender equality today. 

Mariga Eugenia Rocca, a female assistant referee whose experience includes multiple Olympic Games and Women’s World Cups, has reported being struck in the back of the neck by a player while officiating a men’s fourth division game in Argentina.

The Argentina Referee Association is backing Rocca’s claims and has submitted a report to the Argentina Football Association for their review.