Anchor Who Sued NY1 Cut From World Cup Parade Coverage, She Says

NEW YORK — One of the five anchors who has accused NY1 of sidelining older women says the network has shut her out of covering the ticker-tape parade for the U.S. women's soccer team.

In an open letter published Tuesday, veteran anchor Roma Torre said the decision to exclude her from coverage of Wednesday's World Cup celebration is "retaliation" for the age-discrimination lawsuit she and four other NY1 employees filed against the beloved local news channel last month.

"Of course, this is retaliation and a further demonstration of NY1’s complete failure to take women’s issues seriously," Torre wrote in the letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

NY1 and its owner, Charter Communications, "cannot on the one hand celebrate and promote U.S. women’s soccer, but on the other hand treat female employees in a manner that runs completely afoul of what the team and its players stand for and represent," she added.

But a spokesperson for Charter said NY1 has not changed up its regular staffing for the parade.

Torre has been with NY1 since its launch in 1992, when she started as the network's first on-air personality. She said she has hosted coverage of several sports parades, including the 2015 celebration of the United States's last Women's World Cup win.

But Torre says NY1 told her she will not be involved in the live coverage of Wednesday's parade through Lower Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes hailing the national team's 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in Sunday's championship game — even though she had asked to continue in her previous role.

Torre noted that Charter took ownership of NY1 from Time Warner Cable after the 2015 parade. The lawsuit she and the other anchors filed in Manhattan federal court accuses the network of pushing them aside in favor of younger talent following Charter's 2016 merger with Time Warner.

"In addition to everything described in our lawsuit, the way NY1 has handled this U.S. women’s soccer win is emblematic of the problem," Torre wrote.

But Charter spokesperson Maureen Huff said the network will use its regular morning crew to cover the 9:30 a.m. parade, followed by Torre's usual broadcast at noon.

While reporters will be covering the parade route, no anchors will be at the celebration and the network will not have a desk set up at City Hall as it did in 2015, Huff said.

"We are disheartened by this letter as Roma is fully aware of how we're covering this story," Huff said in a statement.

Torre's letter led de Blasio to shame NY1 on Twitter, saying the veteran anchor should be at the parade.

"Keeping one of our city's best journalists on the sidelines during such a special day is an insult to New Yorkers," de Blasio tweeted. "@RomaTorreNYC is a tireless advocate who’s worked hard to earn the trust of New Yorkers — she belongs at this parade."

In the lawsuit, the five newswomen accused NY1 of cutting their airtime and reducing their anchoring opportunities while apparently grooming younger personalities as "replacements" for the older anchors.

Torre is also allegedly paid less than half the salary of the highly visible morning anchor Pat Kiernan even though he was hired five years after her, according to the complaint. Huff has previously said the company has found no merit to the allegations.

Torre's letter referenced the national women's soccer team's demands to be paid on par with their male counterparts. The players brought a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in March arguing that they get less money and support even though they consistently outperform the men's team on the world stage, according to The Washington Post.

Torre said she wrote the letter in part to "celebrate" the women's team for being vocal about women's rights.

"When New Yorkers line the streets tomorrow, it is my hope that they not only celebrate U.S. women’s soccer but also, as they watch the blank pieces of ticker tape fall from the sky, think about the millions of faceless women who suffer in silence at the hands of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and unequal pay," she wrote.