World Cup winner Tobin Heath has revealed that earning equal pay with the US Men's Team has been the moment in her career that's made her 'proudest.'
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Heath is a two time World Cup winner and two time Olympic gold medalist with the US Women's Team, also winning the US Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2016.
She has plenty of honours to her name, both team and individual, and is one of the best players in the world, but none of them compare to her latest win, according to her.
Last month, Heath and her national teammates won an out of court settlement for $24 million for not getting paid the same as the men, and are now just awaiting ratification of them to get equal pay.
Heath says that the achievement is the one her and her teammates are proudest of, in a long spell of dominance for the US women.
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"I think this is certainly the thing we are most proud of because it doesn’t just influence change from a sporting perspective or a football perspective," the Arsenal forward told talkSPORT.
"It influences huge change towards equality for the whole world."
The team had been at odds with US Soccer over the argument for equal pay over five years and the 33-year-old said both sides were happy with how things had gone.
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"It’s been a long fight and it’s a long time to be at odds with your employer. So, I think from that perspective, both sides are extremely happy to be able to move forward in our relationship and feel like we are growing the game together and not opposed because US Soccer will be so much better when we are working towards the same objectives.
“I will just commend my teammates and the people that have helped us along the way because it was exhausting and to think that even during that time the team was still able to be as successful as we were while facing another huge battle at the same time is just a testament to the group.”
Not everyone is happy with the outcome though, with former US goalkeeper Hope Solo having called the current players out for the settlement.
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Hope claimed it was not a win, and then followed it up by calling the whole thing 'pathetic,' taking aim at Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.
"The reason for my sadness, the reason I feel gutted, kicked in the stomach, the reason why I feel betrayed and a bit hopeless is because the settlement is pathetic," Solo said.
"...They were outclassed, outmanoeuvred and then, finally, after pumping the brakes and doing a 180 in the fight of our life, they decided to show up to the party and they got hustled."
Topics: Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Womens World Cup, USA, Womens Football
Ryan Sidle