The U.S. Soccer Federation apologized Wednesday after a backlash against statements in court documents this week that players on the men's national team possess greater skill and have more demanding jobs than their female counterparts. 

The soccer federation made the claims in hopes of convincing a federal court in California to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed by members of the 2019 World Cup championship team. 

U.S. Soccer stated that "it is undisputed that the job of [Men's National Team] player requires materially more strength and speed than the job of [Women's National Team] player." It also added that "the job of MNT players carries more responsibility than the job of a WNT player."

Later U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro apologized for "the offense and pain caused by language in this week's court filing, which did not reflect the values of our Federation or our tremendous admiration of our Women's National Team. Our WNT players are incredibly talented and work tirelessly, as they have demonstrated time and again from their Olympic Gold medals to their World Cup titles."