The U.S. women’s national hockey team made waves mid-March when they announced they would boycott the upcoming world tournament over their ongoing fair-pay dispute with USA Hockey. Three days before the tournament, the team and hockey’s governing body reached a historic agreement and so the women’s team traveled to Michigan, eager to defend their world title.
In Friday’s final against Canada, the U.S. team took home their fourth consecutive championship title, beating our northern neighbors 3-2 in overtime. Hilary Knight, who scored the team’s third goal in overtime, told the New York Times about the win and the settlement over fair pay, “It’s two storybook endings for us. I can’t speak enough of the bond that we created, doing what we did, making history for the next generation.”
The players’ new contract includes better bonuses, pooled prize money, and combined salaries that are estimated to be above $70,000 a year, up from their previous pay of $6,000 every four years. USA Hockey also committed to “providing programming, marketing, promotion, and fundraising” for the women’s sport. The day following the agreement, Meghan Duggan, the team’s captain, told the Cut that their history-making deal was “a huge step for women’s hockey and women’s sports in general.”
