The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard! Summer is in full swing here in beautiful Tennessee, and it’s the perfect time to go outside, bounce a ball, walk a dog, swing a hammer, shoot a gun, grill some meat, kick a chicken or go to a water park! So, get moving, fatty, it’s summertime!
In early July we celebrate the birth of this great nation, blowing stuff up and eating great food. It’s what we do! Nothing beats spending time with family and friends as we blow stuff up and salute this great country. They said President Trump was going to blow this country up, and the economy did blow up—it boomed for the better. With the 2020 election looming, the hate rhetoric is sadly about to really blow up. It’s 2019, and life here in America, right now, is good! So, chill out, hold family close, host a BBQ, pet your dog, mow the grass, enjoy being American!
Alright, let’s get into the beef of this enchilada. Someone recently emailed me asking what that enchilada comment was about. I thought it was simple enough, right? Getting into the beef of the enchilada means let’s move on and discuss the main topic—USA women!
I am being honest: this article took me a long while to finish. I discussed this issue with many people, read probably every mainstream article written on the subject and spent many hours bush hogging a field while contemplating the issue. Equal pay in the sports world—a big, controversial topic today. Will I be giving you examples of sexism? Discrimination? Or will I be giving you a few simple examples of Economics 101?
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is currently underway. The USA women defeated the host team France in the quarterfinal just before press time. These women have been dominant for the past couple of decades. They own the sport of soccer, and I imagine they will once again be World Cup champions. So, should success (especially when compared to their significantly less accomplished male counterparts) mean they should be paid equal to, or maybe even more money than, the men’s USA team?
It seems the entire media world has taken the side of the USA female soccer squad, contending that they deserve the same share of the pie as their male counterparts. The women get paid significantly less—around 38 cents to every man’s dollar.
Recently the entire USA female team filed a lawsuit against the USSF, or United States Soccer Federation. The lawsuit alleges gender discrimination regarding wages, working conditions and general investment of the team. USSF responded recently, saying this is not about gender in any way but “differences in the aggregate revenue generated by the different teams.”
It’s true that in soccer, like many professional sports, men and women are not paid the same. For instance, the winning team in the last men’s World Cup received $38 million while the winning team of this year’s women’s World Cup will receive $4 million. It’s also true that in 2018 nearly half the world watched the men’s World Cup, with 3.6 billion viewers tuning in. That pales in comparison to the last women’s World Cup, which brought in 764 million viewers. Very respectable, and yet the audience for the men was nearly five times larger.
Some activists may not want to hear this, but there is an existing argument that the women already make more than what is fair. The last women’s World Cup generated $73 million in revenue, with 13 percent going to the women. The men’s World Cup held in South Africa made a whopping $4 billion in revenue, and only 9 percent went to the men.
The big talking point currently is that the USA women’s team made more revenue from 2016-18 than the men did. Technically that is true, technically it was also nearly equal: $50 million for the women, $49 million for the men. And, technically, those numbers represent a time period right after the women won a World Cup and the men weren’t even playing, due to not making the tournament. But those trivial facts didn’t make the cut for nearly every article I read defending equal pay for the female soccer players.
The sports world is very similar to Hollywood. The entertainment business doesn’t run on equal pay for equal work. That concept doesn’t work. It’s all about supply and demand.
It really is simple. The world has more interest in men’s soccer than they do in women’s. It takes nothing away from Team USA and their accomplishments, it’s just a fact backed up by real data. The men’s team has more sponsorships, viewers and play in a more popular gender league where the depth of competition is far greater.
One of the big arguments the women make in the suit, and that their supporters make, is that the USA women are the best in the world and have been far more successful than the men, thus deserving equal pay. There is no doubt this is true in the sense that the women have dominated in the past couple decades, while the men have been sadly disappointing, not even qualifying in the last World Cup. Does that mean the women deserve equal pay?
Men and women are different. Pretending otherwise ends in stupidity such as the idea that men and women are the same. A few years ago, this same USA women’s team lost a match to Dallas U-15 Boys Academy team. It was a friendly match to prepare Team USA for a tournament, yet the fact remains the greatest women’s team in the world lost to a bunch of 14-year-old academy boys.
Why even point this out? Because it reiterates the fact that, regarding sports, men and women are not on an equal playing field, and that’s okay. Science tells us that men generally have larger muscle mass, and they are quicker and stronger. The men’s game is faster.
Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player in the world, but no one seriously would ever call her the greatest tennis player ever. Because we all know she wouldn’t be able to compete in the men’s circuit. It never crossed my mind to not respect her as a champion, but I just never thought to compare her to her male counterparts. Yet demanding equal pay in the sports world kind of forces us to do that.
They don’t pay Gary Busey the same as they would pay Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to star in a movie. Why? Gary works hard, but The Rock gets paid hundreds of millions more.
By that same token, is it fair that Scarlett Johansson made $40 million this year, while poor Gary struggles? That’s discrimination, right? Equal pay for equal work? The Rock and Scarlett get paid more because more people go see their movies, just like more people have serious interest in men’s soccer.
Soccer in America always blows up during a World Cup, and then it dies down. American football, baseball, basketball and hockey all have higher ratings, while in the rest of the world, soccer is hands-down the most popular sport.
In America the National Women’s Soccer League struggles. After two previous failed leagues, the new nine-team NWSL barely makes a blip on the radar. The MLS men’s league originated in 1995 and struggled for years, losing an estimated $250 million in the first five years. Now with an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, MLS has the third-highest average attendance of any sports league in America. Impressive indeed!
Why even bring this up, Train Daddy? I mean can you not just do an article praising this team’s success and leave the controversy aside? But it’s everywhere, from Good Morning America to CNN to even pre- and post-game discussions for every Team USA game this World Cup. The media wants you to agree that the women deserve the same pay as the men. Don’t argue, don’t ask questions and don’t bring up stats.
The USA women’s national team certainly has a valid argument. They are dominant and have represented this country with utter destruction of the opponents. They probably do deserve more cash. But get out of here with this ridiculous notion that since they’re more successful than the USA men’s team, they deserve equal pay. The men have been a major disappointment these last few years, but they play in a league with superior depth, interest and ratings. Economics 101 again, my friends!
What about basketball? I mean, LeBron James is the social justice warrior. I would be very interested to hear what NBA players have to say regarding WNBA players and equal pay. LeBron only just signed a $154 million contract with the Lakers, while 2018 first-round WNBA pick A’ja Wilson can’t even get one of those millions. She even tweeted “154m…. must be nice. We over here looking for an M but lord, let me stay in my lane.”
The logical response to Wilson complaining about pay disparity would be that the WNBA made $25 million in revenue last year with reports the league is still losing money, while the NBA made $7.4 billion in revenue. Is that not a slam dunk?
Alrighty then, let’s wrap this up! Team USA deserves all the respect in the world. They are superstars paving the way for women’s soccer. Little girls look up to these women, and this is the formula for success and higher pay. Equal pay in sports equals ludicrous. A more worthy pursuit for Team USA women would be to help end the tragedy known as “pay to play” in America. A sport that requires a ball, shoes and a net shouldn’t keep poor children out of contention to progress due to high club fees. You want to know why the USA men struggle? Nearly every other country sees a talented kid, lets him play and lets him advance if he’s good enough, no matter his family’s financial situation. How much better do you imagine Team USA would be if we put a soccer field in every ghetto in the USA? Here in America, it’s an entirely different process, and complex enough for its own separate article.
The Train Daddy is rolling into the station. Thank you to all my loyal readers, and to all the haters. I appreciate the numerous emails. Keep on reading! Any of you with opinions on this piece, email me at titanman1984@gmail.com. I always reply. God bless you all. Choo-choo!
