“Women’s soccer isn’t as fun to watch as men’s soccer.” “Women don’t play as well as men.” “There just isn’t as big an audience for women’s sports.” These are some automatic responses to allegations of gender discrimination in women’s soccer. But these justifications are factually inaccurate. Rather, FIFA and soccer confederations take deliberate active measures to ensure that women athletes don’t receive the same number of fans, equal glory or fat paychecks as their male counterparts.

We grieve for nine innocent African American churchgoers who were slaughtered at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston Wednesday night because of the color of their skin. The terrorist said he did this because of their race, his actions stemming from hate. Terror and fear now permeate our houses of worship and our souls. We have wept, prayed, tweeted, mobilized and marched for a new social justice movement that demands true equal justice for all.

High-ranking officials of FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, have been indicted for corruption. FIFA's illegal activities don't stop there, however. Rampant gender bias exists at every level of FIFA, from the top down. This multi-billion dollar powerhouse deliberately excludes and discriminates against women. It's time for that to end.

The author of this Washington Post opinion piece on the need for greater commitment to diversity in the legal profession is a member of Legal Momentum's Board of Directors.