|
| |
 |
|
|
Pay for play Your Take: What women should do to get equal pay
Posted: Sunday July 04, 1999 12:28 PM
CNN/SI asked users what women need to do to get equal pay at Wimbledon. Here's a sampling of your responses. Unfortunately, it's ultimately a matter of revenue -- the ability to generate interest/dollars -- rather than the intrinsic quality of the tennis. Not that it will stem the tide of marketing tan legs and teenage cleavage, but perhaps the WTA will begin playing 5-set matches in Grand Slam events. At least this excuse for the disparity will be gone. -- Glen Hughes, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada Women tennis players should not be made to do anything more to get the same prize money as men. Because after all it's a game. Both go through same ordeal, stress and strain. When the achievement is same, how can the prize money be different? -- Dr. P. K. Deshpande, Nagpur, Maharashtra State, India They should sit it out until they the same pay. -- Neil Carroll, Bronx, NY It's easy -- equal pay for equal work. When women play the best of five in all matches through the tournament. I believe women then deserve equal pay, until that happens they don't deserve to be paid the same for less work. -- Scott Page, Bicknell, IN It's really very simple. In the real world, it's equal pay for equal work. In this case, one needs to throw the excitement factor in too. TV ratings and gate earnings should give a true picture of what majority finds interesting. If the tallies are higher for the women's matches, they deserve higher winnings than the men. -- Neville Gai, Hartland, WI Women never can. Men will always be considered the greatest because that is the correct consideration. -- Shane Hollingshead, Minersville If you use the "Equal pay for equal work" rule, it seems that all the women have to do is extend their match requirements from two out of three sets to three out of five. They play the same number of games/points per set. Some points/games even take more time than some in the men's matches. But what about the sponsors? It seems to me that they dictate how much the women win by the amount of money they put up for the prizes. All that is really required is to secure larger sponsorships. -- Levilani, Columbus, OH When women professional tennis players can compete with men professional tennis players, then they should receive equal pay. I doubt that any woman could compete with an above average men's amateur college tennis player. This point would be even more true for such sports as basketball, hockey, or soccer. -- Dave Christensen In my opinion, women are expecting too much when they demand equal pay at Wimbledon. I agree wholeheartedly that there is no difference in the entertainment value provided be the women's and men's tennis. But the duration of the entertainment provided by men is far more than that by women. For instance, the men at Wimbledon this year will be expected to play 5-set matches for 3 consecutive days. Will the women be up to it?? I don't think so. Till the women are capable of producing quality tennis over best of 5-set matches consistently, they should not demand equal pay. It simply will not be fair to the men. -- Hareesh Kalikiri, Lubbock, TX Since professional sports exist to entertain the fans, those in charge of divvying up the dough need only look at the TV ratings, fan support and general hoopla for the women's game. In the case of all pro sports, the pay should depend not upon the athletic level of the sport but rather the revenue the product generates. With the increasing parity, athleticism and, yes, sex appeal in the women's game, perhaps the men should be the ones arguing for equal winnings. -- Mike K., Atlanta, GA Play with the same power, speed, and length of matches as men. In other words, until women athletes are as physically capable as men, they will play second fiddle and should be paid as such. Watching a tennis match between two women is like watching a men's match in slow motion. The same applies when comparing the WNBA to the NBA. Sorry gals but our body compositions are different (and I for one am grateful). -- Wildcat, Clarksville, TN They should play against the men, and if they beat the men, they should get paid like the men. If they want equal pay, they should be of equal ability. There should be no separate tennis for just women. If they must play only other women, so they can win once in a while, then they shouldn't belly ache about getting less money. -- Bruce Spratling, Ithaca, NY Considering that the U.S. and Australian opens offer same pay, I think it's only fair that women, who work just as hard as the men do, whether it's best of three or five sets, deserve equal pay. As we speak, there is more interest in the women's game than in the men's, and, personally, I find the women's game much more enjoyable to watch. It's time jolly old England got with the program! -- Michael Watkins, Omaha, NE I think be very straightforward, women's tennis is at an all time high in popularity, women players have great depth and will provide some very competive and entertaining matches for some time to come. The same cannot be said of the men, at this time the only men worth watching are the elders of the game, when they leave then what? I really just think it's time to crawl out of the middle ages and understand that the women have a great deal to offer the tennis watching world and deserve the same pay as the men, who at this time do not have the depth of the women. When you just come down to it, it's just the right thing to do. -- Cheryl, Mt. Vernon, IL Are the women's matches equally attended? Are they equally watched on TV? If so, they damn well should get equal pay. If they're watched more so, then they should get greater pay. Personally, I've never found any matches more interesting than those between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. -- Mark Reichert, St. Louis, MO I think that women players should point out the advances made in other fields as far as equal pay. Also they should point out the popularity of the women's game today, and the number of fans that it draws. Anna Kournakova has never won a major tournament, but she is a strong draw and popular player among fans everywhere. Finally, they should look to the U.S. Open for inspiration. I believe that that is the only Grand Slam where the men and women get equal pay. It is a concept whose time has come. It should be the rule and not the exception for the new millennium. -- Devin Hyde, Indianapolis, IN
| |||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Read our privacy guidelines.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
