US Soccer Sues USWNT over Labor Dispute: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The United States Soccer Federation filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the union representing the women's national team over a collective bargaining agreement dispute.

According to Andrew Das of the New York Times, U.S. Soccer wants a judge to uphold an agreement between the two sides that expired in 2012. The USWNT and U.S. Soccer had been working together under the old terms for the last three years without an official agreement.

U.S. Soccer is asking that a judge confirm the working arrangement is valid to avoid any potential work stoppages. Das expanded on that point in a series of tweets:

If a judge invalidates the current arrangement, U.S. Soccer's hand would be forced into quickly reaching a new CBA. The USWNT could theoretically pull itself out of the 2016 Rio Games, where it's considered a favorite for a gold medal. 

The controversy comes amid a leadership change with the women's team. Richard Nichols, the players' representative since 2014, has been pushing for a new deal behind the scenes and proposed an artificial deadline of Feb. 24. According to Das' report, Nichols contends the players can and may strike if a new CBA is not agreed upon by that day.

In a statement released Wednesday, U.S. Soccer said filing suit was the only way it could ensure players stay on the field while the parties reach a resolution, per Das:

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We are confident the court will confirm the existence and validity of the current CBA, which has been in effect since U.S. Soccer and the Women’s National Team Players Association reached agreement almost three years ago. While unfortunate, we believe taking this action provides the parties with the most efficient path to a resolution.

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While labor disputes are something of a norm in major professional sports leagues, they're more of a rarity when it comes to international competition. These are high-stakes negotiations for both sides.

The USWNT is pushed to the forefront of American sports once every two years: the Olympics and the World Cup. The possibility of the team sitting out Rio is borderline unfathomable; it could be just as detrimental to the marketability of the players as it would for U.S. Soccer.

That said, these negotiations have reached the point where federal arbitrators need to mediate. Wednesday's filing alone should be evidence of how bad things have gotten. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter