U.S. Soccer issued an apology Wednesday night after it made claims in court documents that women on its national team did not have the same responsibilities or physical abilities as their male counterparts, an assertion that drew widespread criticism.

The statement from U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro came hours after Coca-Cola denounced the federation for its stance.

“On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologize for the offense and pain caused by language in this week’s court filing, which did not reflect the values of our Federation or our tremendous admiration of our Women’s National Team,” the statement said. “Our WNT players are incredibly talented and work tirelessly, as they have demonstrated time and again from their Olympic Gold medals to their World Cup titles.”

In court documents filed Monday in response to the players’ motion for a summary judgment, the USSF said the women claimed their ability level is the same as the men “by ignoring the materially higher level of speed and strength required to perform the job of an MNT player.”