In 2016, ESPN honored Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, and Abby Wambach with the Icon ESPY Award. In recognition of their remarkable contributions to the sport. The retired USWNT soccer legend Abby Wambach, known for her prolific goal-scoring abilities, guided the U.S. Women’s Soccer team to two Olympic gold medal victories and a World Cup triumph.

Sharing the same stage and receiving the same award as Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning was a real eye-opener for Wambach. Making her realize that their retirements were like “night and day.”

Wambach highlights the glaring disparity that exists in Kobe, Peyton and her earnings

In 2016, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach were awarded the ESPYS Icon Award after retiring from their respective sports and leaving an undisputable legacy behind. Despite sharing the same stage for similar achievements, the female star realized an important lesson when it came to finances.

In an interview, the ex-USWNT star expressed her views: “I retired in 2015. I was an Olympian, a world champion. I didn’t have much to show for it, financially. A few months later, they wanted to give the Icon ESPY Award. We got all our awards, and the three of us turned to walk off stage and something else like bubbled to the surface, it was this kind of rage. I’d spent my whole career comparing myself to only other women. And here was this opportunity that I was getting the exact same award, and three of us were walking into very, very different retirements. Their biggest concerns were how they are going to invest their hundreds of millions of dollars that they rightfully earned.”

“And mine was, and this is a true story. How I was going to find a job, to get health insurance, to be able to pay my mortgage that month. In order to change systems, you have to start over, and you have to rebuild it with something different,” she added.

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After Wambach retired from soccer, she became a part of the ownership of a new women’s soccer team in the NWSL. She and actress Natalie Portman decided to start this venture by giving women majority club ownership.

How Wambach inspired Natalie Portman to start a Women’s soccer team?

A few years ago, Abby Wambach’s speech about the unfair treatment of women compared to men inspired actress Natalie Portman. The speech stirred a desire in Portman to take action. Noticing the absence of a women’s soccer team in Los Angeles, she made the decision to start one herself.

The women’s soccer team, named Angel City, became the first of its kind in Los Angeles, with the majority of ownership held by women. Portman, enthusiastic about the project, reached out to Wambach with an invitation to join.

Wambach joined Portman, becoming part of the team’s ownership group. The group also includes other famous women like Serena Williams and her 3-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Jr. As well as Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria, and Lilly Singh.

Wambach’s declaration of financial parity is a worthy discussion to be had due to its glaring inequality. Nevertheless, what did you make of her startling revelation? Let us know in the comments section below.

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