The United States Women’s Soccer Team has been in the news frequently over the past year due to the recognition received for winning last years World Cup, however, this time around the news isn’t as celebratory. The U.S. Soccer national governing body sued the U.S. Women’s National Team Player’s Association, the Union representing the world champion team, in order to preserve the terms of agreement that were agreed upon. The agreement expired in 2012 but was lengthened to the end of 2016— the executive director of the USWNT player’s association, Richard Nichols, thinks differently. Nichols sent a letter to U.S. Soccer saying that if the memorandum of understanding (MOU) is not redone, then the players will terminate. All of this drama in the face of critical tournaments leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio has the national governing body worried about the team’s future.

To make matters worse, U.S. soccer made the law-suit public, and therefore, released the home addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of many of the U.S. Women’s National Team players. A clear violation of privacy laws, this error has all the members of the team on high alert for fans, stalkers, and invasion of privacy. U.S. Soccer announced that the release of information was unintentional and has already been retracted, yet USWNT midfielder Megan Rapinoe called it an “egregious error.”

The tensions between the players union and national governing body escalated when team members felt they were being treated secondly, and inferiorly, to the men’s national team. The field conditions have been unacceptable for a team of this caliber, and their salaries are far lower than the men’s. The last straw was pulled last December, when the USWNT refused to play a match because of dangerous field conditions and low-grade artificial turf in Hawaii. After an inspection the U.S. Soccer committee canceled the match to avoid it being counted as a strike. Countless times over the women’s team has been forced to play on turf, which increases the risk of injury and wear on the body, whereas the men have not completed a match on turf since 2005— and they have been far less successful than the women’s team. A player’s livelihood is the condition of their body, because their craft would be useless without a toned, injury-free body. With that at stake, there’s no question as to why the players have the right to be angry with their federation.

The CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament happened from February 10-21 in Texas, and now the team is looking forward to host the four-team #SheBelieves Cup March 3-9 in Tampa, Nashville and Boca Raton. This new event will feature four of the top five teams in the world: England, France, Germany and the Americans. With all that has happened, and all that is at stake, it is no wonder that the player’s filed for an updated MOU. The players earn money by competing and appearing at big international tournaments and Olympics, so with the next opportunity to compete in the World Cup being in 2019, the players wish to capitalize on their earnings now while they are active and playing well.

As the Olympics approach, head coach, Jill Ellis, has made adjustments to the roster that the nation saw at the World Cup last year. The team loses key players as Abby Wambach and Shannon Boxx have retired, Megan Rapinoe is out with an injury, and both Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux are expecting a child. This being said, the Colorado native, Mallory Pugh, who attends Mountain Vista High School, at just 17 years old, received her first call-up to the women’s national team. Her ability to read the field, and composure in-front of goal, has made her a standout forward worthy of the national team— she scored a goal in her first CAP against Ireland this past January after substituting out fan-favorite Alex Morgan. While the future for this team is still unsure, Pugh’s future is sure to shine brightly.