There is a huge inequity problem in professional basketball. The highest paid NBA player makes just about 43 million dollars a year. The highest paid WNBA player makes just over 200,000 dollars a year. The WNBA season lasts only 34 regular season games to the NBA’s 82. The WNBA has teams in only 12 cities. The NBA gets television coverage on 3 networks (ABC, TNT, and ESPN) as well as the NBA channel. The WNBA has a television contract only with ESPN. There’s not a single player in the WNBA with a shoe endorsement contract. Lebron James signed a lifetime shoe deal with Nike valued at 1 billion dollars.
These inequities are typically blamed on women with claims that “women just aren’t as athletic” and “women’s sports aren’t as exciting”. Why does the blame get placed on the women making millions of dollars less than their male counterparts? Why don’t we hear more blame getting placed on men (owners, commissioners, and players alike) for these massive inequities? They are the ones with all the power.
How can we expect women to compete on a comparable level to men when throughout their entire lives they are never given an equal playing field? Men have had centuries to become the best athletes and learn the best strategies. They have had access to the game of basketball for much longer than women. Women are still trying to catch up. How can women close a gap that is this large? Short answer: they can’t.
Sue Bird has been slammed on social media in the past for having the nerve to say that the pay inequity from the NBA to the WNBA is a problem. Everyone came after her about how she is not as good as a male player and quoting TV ratings at her to make sure she was put in her place. Doesn’t she know that people don’t watch her play despite the fact that she is arguably the best woman to ever play the game? Who does she think she is? It’s an overdone argument to say that the women in the league are the ones to blame for the differences. The gaps in money, endorsements, sponsorship, etc… are not the fault of women.
The only way the WNBA will catch up is if it is given equal money, access, and opportunity. The quickest solution would be for the NBA to cancel their next season and give it to the WNBA. Force people to watch women’s basketball as the only option. Give the WNBA the same access to the media that NBA teams get. Give the top players in the women’s league the huge endorsement deals the top men get. Sell Sue Bird’s like you sell Air Jordans. Put Candace Parker on the Gatorade billboard. Let A’ja Wilson host SNL. Sell Breanna Stewart jerseys at every sportswear store in the country. Then maybe we would be able to stop blaming women for the inequities they face. Maybe if roles reversed for once in history and men stepped aside to let women do their thing we could solve this inequity problem.
Sydney Van Alstyne 