Alex Morgan’s No. 13 will officially be retired this Sunday. As a former player for and a current investor in the San Diego Wave, it’s going to be a special weekend looking back on Morgan’s illustrious career.
To kick off the celebrations, Morgan sat down with Alex Cooper on “Call Her Daddy” this week. Cooper, a former collegiate soccer player herself, asked Morgan about the ceremony, her decision to retire, fighting for equal pay, and how women’s soccer has changed since she started playing.
Here are some of the best moments from the interview, and don’t forget to tune into San Diego Wave vs. Houston Dash at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+. The Alex Morgan jersey retirement ceremony will take place after the game.
ON HER JERSEY RETIREMENT
“I just never even thought that that was a possibility, I guess. You see male athletes get their jersey retired, but I don't know as a female athlete, there goes a double standard again. You just don't think that that will happen to me because I'm a female athlete … It'll be a proud moment for me and now having my son and my daughter be able to go out on the field and wave to everybody. I have two kids, and a family and [can] just be really happy and at peace where I left the game.”
ON ENCOURAGEMENT FROM HER PARENTS
Morgan shared a story from her childhood where she wrote on a sticky note that she wanted to be a professional soccer player. Her mom didn’t even bat an eye.
“She was like, let's do this. Like I'm here. We will fly across the country. Like I'll do anything to help you become a professional soccer player, which by the way, there was like little to no avenue to do that at the time.”
On the other hand, her dad taught her to believe in herself and to believe she was the very best.
“My dad instilled this confidence in me and he kept just after every game, after every training, he didn't tell me like, good job. You did everything perfectly. There was criticism in there. But he would tell me, ‘You are the best and you need to believe that when you step on the field. You need to believe that you are the best because you are in my eyes.’ …I don't care that I am not the best soccer player. I can't put the ball in the exact spot that I want to, but I'm going to believe that I'm the best all around all day, every day. And just having the mentality took me a really long way.”
ON THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL PAY
Morgan said after winning the World Cup in 2015, there was pressure to stay in line.
“We want to celebrate and we want to party, but we still have to be buttoned up and we still have to be like girls. We have to be nice women where we have to say the right thing. You can't curse. You don't want to be seen drinking, God forbid, smoking a cigar when you celebrate like, no, that doesn't happen.”
By 2019, the mentality had changed. Most of the team filed a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer Federation.
“We know that winning this is going to help our case and we are the best. And so we carried that confidence in a way that I feel like women don't usually feel comfortable being able to do … We're going to celebrate and we're going to do that with alcohol. We're going to do that with parties. We're going to do that with loud music. We're going to do that by saying whatever the F we want. And we did. And I feel like that was the moment that I was like, oh, like I can be, I can be a badass out of the field and I can celebrate my wins.”
Morgan and her teammates had to submit documents to prove why they were worthy of equal pay, and she explained the argument that they faced from the U.S. Soccer Federation.
“Their main argument was that the man bears more responsibility … because they are inherently faster and stronger, because it takes more strength and speed by a man, so the responsibility is greater. So basically saying women are inherently inferior.”
The lawsuit was eventually settled in 2022, and Morgan said it was important to fight to make the path easier for future generations of women.
“I was holding my daughter when we signed [the settlement] … It was a really special moment …We likely won't reap the benefits of what we're fighting for, but the hope is that our kids will. My hope is my daughter knows nothing other than equal [pay]. She knows nothing other than having as much access to a soccer field, to the best like coaches, to the best opportunities because I played some small part in it. I look at these young players coming into the NWSL and I'm like, yeah, you have that confidence. Yeah. You walk in there proudly and you ask for what you deserve because in a lot of ways, like that's what we fought for, but we didn't have that opportunity. “
ON BEING PREGNANT DURING HER PLAYING DAYS
“When I got pregnant with my first Charlie, this was when I was 29, so the height of my career… People were definitely like, ‘How could she do this? She's never going to get back to where she was before.’ I mean, not even getting into my looks, but just the talent and being able to play at the level again. And I myself had a little bit of fear of that before I got pregnant. Once I got pregnant, I was in go mode. I was like, ‘No, I'm going to get back to playing.’”
ON HER DECISION TO RETIRE
“It was just like, I'm ready. I'm ready to have more babies. I'm ready to hang up the boots. I'm ready to have my weekends free. I feel like I did anything and everything I could have ever dreamed of and beyond in soccer. There's nothing left that I feel like I need to accomplish.”
“The hardest part was telling people. It wasn't making the decision. Honestly, once I made the decision, it was like the biggest weight off of my shoulders.”
ON THE TEA CELEBRATION
“Yes, I did that. And then they came after me with vengeance. And I was like, ‘I just wanted to celebrate.’ I never celebrate. I never, ever had a celebration planned. Ever. Look up any other celebration. You will not find one more. I had one celebration my whole life. It's the tea. And people wanted to kill me over it.”
Even after all of that, Morgan never got a call for a partnership.
“I'm still waiting for my tea sponsorship.”
