(Proper) Pay for Play
There were lots of rumblings around the grounds of Wimbledon this year about the fact that Wimbledon does not offer the women the same prize money as the men. Even British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, chimed in to voice his opinion that the women should be paid the same as the men. There have been arguments that the men play longer matches, i.e. 3 out of 5 sets, or that the men attract more sponsorship money, fans or TV ratings, but frankly I don’t agree. Some years, the men are more popular with the fans or have better TV ratings. Other years, as in the past few years, the women’s matches are more exciting for the fans. Often, a 3 set match, like the final that Venus and Lindsay played last year, is about as exciting as it gets! It should be about pay for performance, quality over quantity and these are the BEST tennis players in the world, male and female and they should be paid equally. Full stop!
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