There's been a big deal in the news in the last few days about female soccer players demanding equal pay as male soccer players.
Now, I absolutely think that men and women should be paid equal for the same job performed at the same skill level. But athletes' pay doesn't come from being skilled athletes, it comes from being skilled performers, and the pay of athletes is directly related to the size of the audience and how much money the sports brings in. It's not the UEFA that's sexist, it's the sports audience who don't get interested in women's sports as easy as men's sports, even when their women's team is the best in the world and the men's team isn't even top ten. But if there was a mandate for equal pay in soccer, where does this extend to? Should WNBA team owners be obligated to pay the players $25 million? If anything, ESPN should be talking about women's sports alongside men's sports as something more than a footnote and try to generate more hype.
Of course I'm not saying there isn't any sexism in sports, of course there is. It's equally ridiculous when the ATP accused the WTA of riding on its coattails when Serena Williams did more for the popularity of the game than the current male stars. (Also the one sport that actually does have equal pay).
Athletes don't get paid outrageous salaries because of their skill, they get paid them because people pay outrageous ticket prices and outrageous merchandise prices. Women in sports will get equal pay when the audience starts buying lots of obscenely overpriced Mia Hamm jerseys.
Now, I absolutely think that men and women should be paid equal for the same job performed at the same skill level. But athletes' pay doesn't come from being skilled athletes, it comes from being skilled performers, and the pay of athletes is directly related to the size of the audience and how much money the sports brings in. It's not the UEFA that's sexist, it's the sports audience who don't get interested in women's sports as easy as men's sports, even when their women's team is the best in the world and the men's team isn't even top ten. But if there was a mandate for equal pay in soccer, where does this extend to? Should WNBA team owners be obligated to pay the players $25 million? If anything, ESPN should be talking about women's sports alongside men's sports as something more than a footnote and try to generate more hype.
Of course I'm not saying there isn't any sexism in sports, of course there is. It's equally ridiculous when the ATP accused the WTA of riding on its coattails when Serena Williams did more for the popularity of the game than the current male stars. (Also the one sport that actually does have equal pay).
Athletes don't get paid outrageous salaries because of their skill, they get paid them because people pay outrageous ticket prices and outrageous merchandise prices. Women in sports will get equal pay when the audience starts buying lots of obscenely overpriced Mia Hamm jerseys.
