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| Friday, September 14, 2001 24:19 EST |
Another self-inflicted wound for the Fed
By Jamie Trecker
[Special to ESPN.com]
Because of the U.S. Soccer Federation's own ineptitude, the issue of the salary disparity between the men's and women's national teams' coaches could become a Fed-crumbling disaster. Because of leading officials' public pronouncements, combined with the inept handling of the women's team's salary dispute, this one has the potential to be the straw that broke the camel's back: ultimately, USSF may find itself called to explain this to retain its tax-exempt status, which depends, in part, on the Fed fulfilling it's mission of gender equity.
If it is, Fed officials will have a tough go of it.
The story was first broken by two of soccer's more enterprising reporters, Scott Reid of the Orange County Register and Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Union-Tribune. By publishing evidence they had gleaned from tax records -- records which the pair was kind enough to share with me -- they have revealed a pattern of gross overcompensation for the top Fed officials and given the lie to the Fed's public concerns over budget issues.
Reid and Ziegler found that men's coach Bruce Arena was paid $482,852 last year, about three times the amount Tony DiCicco, the coach who led the women to the World Cup title, received. More startling, despite the fact that USSF's
total revenue dropped by $10.07 million between 1998 and 1999 (from $37.53 million in 1998 to $27.46 million in 1999), director's compensation increased by more than 100 percent, jumping from $563,363 in 1998 to $1.13 million last year.
Now, were the issue a straightforward one -- just the difference in salaries between two professionals -- this wouldn't be a big deal at all. For, the fact is, the men's coach probably does deserve to be paid more for the simple fact that the men's team earns more. (Note that despite having a banner year in 1999 with the WWC, almost all the money the women's team
generated from that event went into WWC's or FIFA's or the U.S. Soccer Foundation's pockets -- not the Fed's.) And despite the wave of publicity that surrounded the women's team, judging the appetite for them as an attraction remains difficult: TV ratings have remained low in the wake of the WWC, and if patterns hold, the men's team will outdraw the women's team
2-1 at the gate.
But, this is America, a funny country when it comes to soccer: this is the only place in the world that takes the women's game as seriously as it does the men's, and USSF officials have skillfully played to that in public. When April Heinrichs was selected as the new head coach of the team, both President Dr. Bob Contiguglia and General Secretary Hank Steinbrecher
heralded the day as a remarkable one for "gender equity in America." Heinrichs' contract, in fact, was presented as being, according to Steinbrecher at the time, "in line with what [the men's coach] is receiving." And, when the Fed agreed to give a new deal to the women's team, again, officials sounded the gender equity horn, saying that the Fed was a leader in women's sports.
Well, not exactly: Heinrichs does have a long-term deal, same as Arena, but the coach who will be guiding what is arguably America's biggest attraction into the Olympic Games this summer is receiving less than half of what Arena makes, according to two Fed officials with knowledge of her contract.
As a result, despite doing something that might make good business sense, the Fed has erred in the public arena -- and that's where it will have to answer.
For, should any zealous individual at the IRS wish to bring up the Fed's "primary exempt purpose statement" -- which is contained on the tax forms filed to the government -- that statement has read for three years running as "To promote excellence and govern soccer in the United States in order to make it the pre-eminent sport recognized for excellence in participation, spectator appeal, international competition and gender equity."
Then, one must ask, how can the Fed justify paying the coach of the nation's best-known women's sports team less than a man who manages an arguably far more internationally important, but much less loved-at-home set of individuals?
I don't know if Arena deserves half a million dollars to coach the men's team, but that is a figure in line with what many other international coaches get. Since the women are rapidly becoming America's best-known soccer export, I would suggest that whoever is cutting the checks this week on South Prairie Avenue might want to consider doubling Heinrichs'.
For this is not an issue that is going to go away, and the Fed -- as usual, with its growing history of self inflicted wounds -- has no one to blame but itself.
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