By Brigitte L. Nacos
Yesterday afternoon (Sunday, July 14) was not unusual for television’s treatment of male and female golf professionals: CBS aired the men’s John Deere Classic; NBC covered the Scottish Open; ABC showed the “American Century Championship” with golfing celebrities—when I looked for a moment, “Larry the Cable Guy” was hitting a ball; the Golf Channel covered the 2019 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. Finally, at 6:00 p.m. the Golf Channel got to the LPGA Marathon Classic.
If you consulted the weekend’s Sports Calendar of TV highlights in the New York Times you did not even know that there was an LPGA tournament—merely the domestic professional men’s tournaments, John Deere Classic and the Senior Players Championship, were listed. Ignoring LPGA events in the calendar of the Times was not an unusual oversight but is quite common as I know since I am a frequent watcher of LPGA and PGA golf tournaments on TV.
For all the coverage surrounding the exceptional performance and win of America’s marvelous women’s national soccer team at the World Cup tournament in France, I doubt that this will result in more attention to the games of the women’s soccer league once the hype of the Cup victory has subsided. Nor will it improve the volume of reports about other female sports.
To be sure, some personalities like Michelle Wie in golf, Serena Williams in tennis, and, now, Megan Rapinoe get special media attention.
And when controversies or confrontations arise, reporters will be there to cover it. Think about the pay inequality between male and female members of the national soccer teams. When the spectators at the World Cup’s final in Lyon screamed “Equal Pay” after the U.S. team’s victory, there was massive coverage. When complains are expressed over the lack of females in coaching positions, whether concerning teams or individuals, the press is interested in reporting. But when it comes to day-to-day coverage, media organizations display their gender bias openly. Just one example: Have you ever seen two female broadcasters calling the plays of PGA tournaments? I have not. These roles are reserved exclusively for males. Women, yes, can report from one or the other hole or interview players after they have finished their rounds. At LPGA tournaments it is not unusual to see and hear two male broadcaster calling the plays or one female and one male.
I applaud Procter & Gamble for siding with America’s female Cup winners on the issue of equal pay and the company’s generous donation to the women’s national team’s player association--$23,000 for each member of the 23-person team. But unless others in the corporate world that donate so generously to male-only professional teams and events step forward and donate comparable sums to female-only professional teams and events will there be a path to equal attention and equal pay.
Pay inequality is the normal state of affairs in sports—with one exception: Tennis.
Compare what female professionals in all other sports are paid, and you see huge, huge differences.
Golf, again, is a case in point: Whereas you do not have to win a major PGA tournament to win more than $1 Million (and double that much—or more--if you win a major), LPGA tournament winners get nice payouts—but crumbs in comparison to their male counterparts. Yesterday’s winner of the PGA’s John Deere Classic got $1,080,000; the winner of the LPGA’s Marathon Classic got 262,500. The tournaments for over 50 year old males typically pay the winners significantly more than female golf professionals winning a LPGA tournament. As for senior female golf professionals, they do not even have a tour comparable to their male counterparts.
Only when females in sports get media attention and corporate sponsorships comparable to males in sports will there be a realistic chance to close the gender gap--including in the size of audiences at events and before television screens.
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