Wage Deal Averts Threatened Boycott By U.S. Women's Hockey Team

Enlarge this image toggle caption Mark Humphrey/AP Mark Humphrey/AP

USA Hockey says it has a pay deal with players on the women's team, averting a threatened boycott of the world championships, which start Friday near Detroit.

Before the agreement team captain Meghan Duggan told NPR's All Things Considered that she and her teammates were paid poorly:

"USA Hockey pays us, as the women's players, only during a six-month period of time out of the four-year Olympic cycle. During that six months, USA Hockey pays the players $1,000 a month for a six-month period. The remaining three and a half years, USA Hockey pays the players virtually nothing."

The players said Tuesday that they now have a four-year agreement that pays players outside the six months before the Olympics. Duggan said players "stood up for what we thought was right and USA Hockey's leadership listened," according to the Associated Press.

The women have been very successful despite the low pay, reports the Two-Way's Camila Domonoske: