WNBA vs NBA Debate: The Issue
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) conference finals are wrapping up this week. However, the focus is far from what is taking place on the court.
Recently, WNBA players have become more outspoken about the wage gap between their salary and the salary of National Basketball Association (NBA) players. Skylar Diggins-Smith has been the face of this movement, as back in May she began the conversation on ESPN’s show “Get Up.”
Diggins-Smith said of the pay gap, “It’s disappointing. A lot of us play two seasons, one overseas and one for the WNBA. So you could argue we have a longer season and put in equal work. We have a lot to do.”
The problem frankly, is much more than basketball. The issue is the systematic oppression of women in the sports industry.
Sports has always been a male-dominated field. From the people playing the sports, owners of the teams and the people who cover them. It’s mainly men. The first woman to ever call play by play for an NFL game was Beth Mowins, who did it in 2017.
When women begin playing the same sports on the highest level, there is without a doubt a subconscious dislike for their league from the fans of the male league of the same sport. This is the root of the problem which is keeping WNBA players from making even a quarter of what NBA players make.
Every time a WNBA player makes a comment about the pay gap, social media explodes. You see the same comments on social media about these athletes every time. Basketball fans hiding behind the screen will say that any high school team could beat the WNBA all-stars, and that they all belong in the kitchen. While it may just be a means to get social media attention, it reveals a dynamic that’s disturbing about society as a whole.
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner said in an interview: “WNBA players don’t make sh*t,” and in the future, WNBA players might sit out unless they get compensated more. For context, Griner is one of the highest paid players in the WNBA, making approximately $110,000.
The cap for WNBA athletes’ salaries is $110,000. The minimum salary for an NBA player with no experience in the league is almost eight times that amount, at $838,000.
While it is true that the WNBA does not have the viewership at all that the NBA has, the league is not less entertaining. There are rarely any dunks, and the athleticism is lesser. However there is more to basketball than dunking and athleticism. The WNBA has a lot to offer with technique and team play, which any true basketball fan will enjoy.
If you call yourself a basketball fan, but you don’t support the WNBA players getting larger contracts, you’re not a real basketball fan. The WNBA being popular as well as the NBA being popular is a great thing for the sport of basketball.
As a basketball fan myself, I wish that there was more acceptance and tolerance for the WNBA and the very real pay gap that they face. They do need more viewers to bring in more money, so start watching. Get involved and enjoy the sport that is rapidly rivaling football in popularity across the United States, and combat the hate that is spewed all over social media whenever a talented athlete is rightly upset about being underpaid.
Jim T • Jul 27, 2020 at 11:43 AM
Women are the reason that women can’t make more money in the WNBA. If woman (A) is asking for $150,000 and woman (B) is willing to take $90,000 and is about the same skill set, guess who gets the job? If you don’t understand how markets work then you have no business weighing in on this topic.
Zachary Turbide • Feb 3, 2020 at 3:36 PM
“When women begin playing the same sports on the highest level, there is without a doubt a subconscious dislike for their league from the fans of the male league of the same sport.” – I would not refer to it as a dislike but rather lack of interest. “Basketball fans hiding behind the screen will say that any high school team could beat the WNBA all-stars, and that they all belong in the kitchen.” – first of all you wrote this article behind a screen yourself. Secondly, you only added the ‘kitchen’ part because you realized that they were potentially right and you needed to make it seem outrageous. I appreciate the debate but I find many of your points to be plagued with biases and generalizations that reduces your opposition to angry sexists when it is not the case.
Dana • Jul 8, 2019 at 4:27 PM
The writer was probably giggling the whole time he typed this article. Or he was quaking in fear of the woman standing behind him with a baseball bat. WNBA is, as another person commented, a welfare recipient that will never EVER attract huge crowds or be able to charge crazy money for seats like the NBA does. I liken this comical charade to Arena Football players demanding NFL wages. The crazy fantasy only works if your heroin dosage is near-lethal. Put the syringe down and come back to the real world….or just force women to have their own conference in the NBA for one season–just ONE. Interconference games would whittle the team membership to zero before the end of the season. The women would quit or be severely injured. At least they’d have a more rational understanding of how ridiculous equal pay for all basketball athletes is.
Joe • Jun 8, 2019 at 8:35 PM
Umm.. did you say it’s NOT less exciting?? Because it very clearly is less entertaining…. No one wants to spend their nights watching bounce passes and layups all day… And there are less women that also watch the wnba as opposed to the NBA .. are they also subconsciously sexist?? The only thing that needs to be discussed is the actual numbers for said business model.. for example, what is the percentage that’s allotted to player salaries compared to the revenue that that league brings in, say the nba. If it’s 15% of all revenue brought in and the wnba has a much lower percentage compared to how much money they brought in, then you have a point. But you can’t compare apples to oranges. And is that a threat? That they’re gonna sit out?? Lol, oh no…. Please don’t
BC • Jun 5, 2019 at 8:02 PM
Dunks are a big part of momentum and getting the crowd into the game in the NBA.
WNBA rim height is same as NBA at 10 feet. Many WNBA stars have argued for lower rim height to allow more WNBA players to be able to dunk.
WNBA play only 10 min quarters or 40 min games which is part of reason for lower game scores in WNBA.
WNBA need to go the same 12 min quarters =48 min games.
Aiden Scott FitzGerald • Jan 16, 2019 at 11:37 AM
this is fax but more people need to watch the sport
Jerome • Sep 5, 2018 at 7:31 PM
The level of play doesn’t impress anyone that has played. The league and many players are not easy to like ! Sorry if the truth hurts. It’s a welfare sports league that can’t survive on its own.