Alex Morgan

Why this person is recognized

What Alex has actually done

Recognition rests on documented conduct. Each example below records what happened, when, the principle it demonstrates, and the sources our editors reviewed, with an honest assessment of how strong that evidence is.

1. 1

   Lead plaintiff in the USWNT's 2019 gender discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer through to the 2022 settlement

   March 2019Moral CourageEvidence: Strong

   In March 2019, 28 members of the United States women's national team filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation citing years of institutionalized gender discrimination in pay and working conditions; the suit was led by Morgan, who had also been one of five players to file a 2016 EEOC complaint. On 1 May 2020 U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner dismissed the Equal Pay Act claims, and the players said they would appeal to the Ninth Circuit. In February 2022 U.S. Soccer and the players announced a $24 million settlement, with $22 million to the players and $2 million to a fund for post-career and charitable purposes, and a commitment to equal pay rates in all matches contingent on a new collective bargaining agreement. Morgan later said the players put more than 500 hours of their own time into the case without knowing whether it would succeed or how they would be perceived.

   Principle demonstrated: Challenging institutional unfairness on behalf of colleagues at professional and reputational risk

   Evidence note: The filing, the 2020 partial dismissal and the 2022 settlement are matters of public record reported contemporaneously by independent outlets; the Boston Globe identifies the suit as led by Morgan. The personal cost (time and uncertainty about public reception) is self-reported in a 2025 podcast interview; no retaliation or financial loss was documented. The court docket or the Ninth Circuit filing would make the record airtight.

   Supporting evidence

   • US women's soccer claim of unequal pay tossed; can argue travel The Boston Globe, May 1, 2020 · Contemporaneous reporting · independently corroborated

     (paraphrase) Judge R. Gary Klausner granted U.S. Soccer partial summary judgment and dismissed the Equal Pay Act claims; the suit, filed in March 2019 and led by Alex Morgan, would be appealed to the 9th Circuit while the Civil Rights Act claims on travel, hotels and support services continued.

   • U.S. Soccer and women soccer stars settle equal pay lawsuit for $24 million NBC News, February 22, 2022 · Contemporaneous reporting · independently corroborated

     (paraphrase) U.S. Soccer agreed to pay $24 million, $22 million to the players and $2 million to a fund, and to pay men and women at equal rates in all friendlies and tournaments, "contingent on the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement"; Morgan is named among the five 2016 EEOC complainants.

   • Alex Morgan Call Her Daddy interview: 'Women are inferior' was argued by U.S. Soccer in case against equal pay CBS Sports, September 4, 2025 · Interview · independently corroborated

     over 500 hours of our own time put into something that you never knew if it was going to ever happen.

2. 2

   Publicly released emails showing the NWSL had been warned about Paul Riley, and backed the players who came forward

   September 30, 2021Moral CourageEvidence: Strong

   On 30 September 2021, the day The Athletic published Mana Shim's and Sinead Farrelly's accounts of sexual coercion by coach Paul Riley, Morgan, a former Portland Thorns teammate who had confirmed the players' accounts to the reporters, posted screenshots of Farrelly's April 2021 email to NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird and Baird's reply, and stated that the league had been informed of the allegations multiple times and had refused to investigate. She publicly told Shim and Farrelly she was in their corner and called on the league to protect its players. On 5 October 2021 she appeared with both players on NBC's Today show, saying she was there to support them and asking the league to be proactive and transparent; Baird resigned that week.

   Principle demonstrated: Defending colleagues who reported abuse; publicly contradicting an institution's account with evidence

   Evidence note: Contemporaneous independent reporting (Yahoo Sports, the Just Women's Sports timeline with her embedded posts, CNN) of her public statements and the documents she released. Her confirmation of the players' accounts to The Athletic is reported secondhand; the original Athletic article was not retrieved this session.

   Supporting evidence

   • Amid NWSL's sexual coercion scandal, Alex Morgan offers evidence league commissioner failed to act Yahoo Sports (via AOL), September 30, 2021 · Contemporaneous reporting · independently corroborated

     The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations. [...] Mana and Sinead, we support you and are in your corner.

   • A comprehensive timeline of the NWSL's reckoning: Paul Riley scandal Just Women's Sports, October 13, 2021 · Independent reporting · independently corroborated

     Something we ask is for the league to start being proactive and not reactive. [...] We ask for transparency.

   • Alex Morgan, ex-NWSL players Mana Shim, Sinead Farrelly want better policies, transparency from league Yahoo Sports, October 5, 2021 · Contemporaneous reporting · independently corroborated

     First and foremost, I'm here today to support Mana and Sinead.

3. 3

   Helped a teammate report her coach's harassment in 2015 when the league had no clear reporting channel, and later joined U.S. Soccer's safety taskforce

   2015Respect for OthersEvidence: Moderate

   According to Shim's account to The Athletic in 2021, she reported Riley to the Portland Thorns front office in 2015 with Morgan's help. Morgan has said she could not find a human resources contact or an anti-harassment policy at the time and helped Shim report Riley to the league; the Thorns terminated Riley for cause but publicly described his exit as a decision not to renew his contract, and he was hired by another club. In November 2022 Morgan was one of 33 members of U.S. Soccer's participant safety taskforce, chaired by Shim, formed after the federation's investigation into abuse in the NWSL.

   Principle demonstrated: Supporting a colleague with less power through a reporting process; sustained follow-through

   Evidence note: The 2015 help is attested by Shim, independently of Morgan, as relayed in the Just Women's Sports timeline, and by Morgan's own later account in the ESPN E:60 documentary. The Yates Report (King & Spalding, 3 October 2022) section on the 2015 complaint could not be read this session and should be checked for its description of Morgan's role. The taskforce membership rests on a single independent report.

   Supporting evidence

   • A comprehensive timeline of the NWSL's reckoning: Paul Riley scandal Just Women's Sports, October 13, 2021 · Independent reporting · independently corroborated

     (paraphrase) Mana Shim said she reported the incidents to the Portland Thorns' front office in 2015, with Morgan's help.

   • Alex Morgan: Thorns teammate Mana Shim 'failed by the system' Just Women's Sports, October 5, 2022 · Interview

     I couldn't find an HR contact, [...] I had helped Mana do the right thing, which was reporting Paul to the league.

   • Alex Morgan, more USWNT stars join US Soccer safety taskforce Just Women's Sports, November 4, 2022 · Independent reporting · independently corroborated

     (paraphrase) Morgan is one of 33 members of U.S. Soccer's participant safety taskforce, chaired by Mana Shim; in 2015 she helped Shim file an abuse complaint against then-Thorns coach Paul Riley.