With the Women's National Basketball Association closing their season, I attended a Chicago Sky game earlier this week. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’ve never been to a women’s professional game before. To my delight, I could not have been happier with the performance that was put on. The game was exciting with three technical fouls, one ejection, and the Sky scoring over 100 points, leading me to be on the edge of my seat the whole time. The only thing missing was the large crowd that produces the basketball game atmosphere.
Unfortunately the stands were pretty bare, and these ladies had little cheering supporting them to victory. With some tickets available around $16 a piece, who could say no? A Groupon deal the night I attended even lowered the price to $10 a ticket, a steal for a professional sporting event. When comparing these prices to the average price of going to a New York Knicks game at $123.22 PER TICKET, where would you rather go? WNBA here I come!
The discrepancies between the NBA and the WNBA are shocking to say the least. There are 30 teams in the NBA, with only 12 playing in the WNBA. That’s less than half the opportunity for women to become professional in basketball than men have. In other words, it’s nearly impossible. The good news is that there is room for growth within the WNBA since it was only established in 1996. However, the support of the fans will be needed in order to create this growth.
The difference in salary between the two is also alarming. Let’s take Elena Delle Donne from the Chicago Sky for example. The lady performs magic on the court, and it’s absolutely breathtaking to watch. The most money she and other WNBA players can make is barely at $100,000, compared to the NBA whose stars get paid that much per game. The salary cap (per team) in the WNBA for the 2014 season was a maximum of $901,000 with the maximum pay of a single player being $105,000. The NBA salary cap for the 2015-2016 season has just been set to 70 million dollars. With similar talent, the Y chromosome seems to make a player worth millions more.
Throughout my childhood I was always told that I could do whatever I want. As someone who plans on having children one day, I want my future daughter, if I ever have one, to believe the same thing. This is one of the best examples of how women and men are treated differently. These women train their whole lives for the ultimate goal of making it to the highest level they possibly can. They play with hustle, heart, and put on performances on par with their male counterparts. They deserve to enjoy the same audience and respect that NBA players receive.
Check to see if your city has a WNBA team, and go check out a game. Let’s help to fill up those seats and give these ladies an audience that makes them feel like professional athletes. Being a woman is hard, making it into the WNBA is the ultimate task, and these ladies deserve to be treated like LeBron James.
