In the two years since the creation of Orange Julius’ original node, things have changed dramatically for women’s sports.… except their relative wages. A damn shame considering that some women’s sports have recently surpassed men in quality as well as overtaking the men in popularity.
I agree with the argument that the economics do not exist to allow equal pay for female athletes. More people attend Laker games to see Shaquille O’Neal use his ass as a battering ram than they do Sparks games to see Lisa Leslie perform the first slam dunk in WNBA history (a short history, true, but did you think a woman could dunk a basketball?) Tickets are also cheaper which results in lower revenue which means less money to go around. Even so, player salaries are only 12% of the league's total revenue. Compare that to the expected 55-65% of total revenue the men will earn in the 2002-2003 season.
And ask yourself this… until the WNBA’s formation, where could you see women’s basketball in America? College, sure. But only if you went to the games. Until the 2001 Women’s Final Four, the tournament had never been televised in its entirety. Twenty years after the tournament began! Never mind that it took the NCAA nearly a decade after Title IX to even grant the women a national tournament.
And is quality really the issue? I’ve been watching a lot of tennis lately, and I’d bet good money that either of the Williams sisters could beat the men's top ranked Lleyton Hewitt. Yet the men’s Wimbledon Champion was paid £39,000 more than the women’s. But that’s just my opinion. Let’s look at some facts. In 1999, HBO increased their coverage of women’s matches to 60% of total airtime. Their ratings increased 19%. In Europe, the women ratings were twice that of the men. Proving that if you give the women some exposure, people will tune in.
In the end, physical battle of the sexes is a non-issue. You’re not paying to see the men compete against the women. You’re paying to see women compete against other women, and the competition is just as fierce and entertaining as anything the men throw out there.
Sure, the revenue is not there to pay male and female athletes equally. But it will and should be. WNBA attendance has steadily increased. As has the WUSA’s. The Little League Softball World Series has even been broadcast on ESPN2. All signs point towards women gaining an significant share of the sport’s market. All they need is a chance to succeed. Put more games on television, offer more merchandise in the stores, spread the word, sit back, and enjoy. Encourage your daughters to play baseball, basketball, soccer, cricket, etc… Teach them how to throw a baseball, football, frisbee, etc… Save some money on a movie and take that special girl to see the WNBA. You may be surprised to find that they're playing the same game the men play... basketball.