At Biden's State of the Union speech, soccer star Kelley O'Hara reflected equal pay battle

In 7,000 words on Tuesday night, President Biden addressed the nation in his second State of the Union speech — a delivery filled with outbursts from lawmakers in what some are calling the start of his re-election campaign.

Throughout the crowd inside the House chamber, though, were subtle reminders of the other political battles playing out throughout the nation, symbolized by some of the guests invited to attend Biden’s speech — including professional soccer star Kelley O’Hara, who had been invited by Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-NJ.

O’Hara made headlines in November when she became the first-ever National Women's Soccer League free agent to sign with a new team in the league’s first night of free agency. She revealed at a live show in New York City that she had signed with her former club, Gotham FC.

But O’Hara has been part of so much more — including the historic fight for equal pay in professional soccer.

The two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist was among the players who sued their employer, U.S. Soccer, for equal pay and who reached a historic collective bargaining agreement alongside the men’s national team that, among other things, ensured an equal split between men and women of World Cup earnings.

The short of it is: O’Hara is much more than a professional soccer player, and having her at the State of the Union is a small gesture that highlights the ongoing fight athletes face for gender equity in sport.

Right before the State of the Union, Sherill and O’Hara hosted a Facebook Live conversation to discuss their shared goals of bolstering equality in sport through action — as well as nuggets from O’Hara’s lifelong career in soccer.

One key takeaway included details of the collective bargaining agreement that the men’s and women’s national teams reached, and how having both teams at the table made for a better overall resolution.

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“We brought up issues and working conditions and different parts of our contract that are important to us, and we thought would be important to them,” O’Hara said. These things included single-occupancy rooms, child support during camp and having 401k plans. “By joining forces, I think that we helped the guys have a better, well-rounded" agreement.

O’Hara also talked about her role models in soccer growing up, including legendary 99er Julie Foudy and East Brunswick’s Heather O’Reilly. When O’Hara was in high school, she remembers watching O’Reilly, who she now considered a best friend, play on the national team. The two are only four years apart.

“I remember seeing her play, in either the Olympics or the World Cup, and just being like, ‘Wow, that’s so cool that she can do that, and I hope that I’m that type of player one day,’” O’Hara said. “So, I think that visibility [helped] – and she was definitely somebody that I looked up to.”

In professional women’s soccer, it wasn’t long ago when girls didn’t have athletes like O’Reilly or O’Hara to look up to. Now, with the explosive growth in women’s sports — and with their visibility growing both on and off the field — young athletes may soon realize they can not only play a sport they love at the highest level, but also push the envelope for change, like O’Hara and others before them have.

Women & Sport is a NorthJersey.com column devoted to female athletes from the rec league level to those in college and the pros. If you've got a tip on an athlete from North Jersey who should be noted in the column, no matter how young they are or how old, please drop me a line at anzidei@northjersey.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: State of the Union: Kelley O'Hara reflects soccer equal pay battle