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Although laughable, the Forbes 100 highest-paid athletes list is just further confirmation that, in the United States of America, the best women will always come up short to mediocre men.
You know the drill: sexism, misogyny.
Some have justified Serena Williams’ absence from the 100 highest-paid athletes list as a result of her missing a year from competition due to pregnancy and maternity leave. This argument is vile in its attempts to: 1) blame the choice of motherhood on her absence from the list when male athletes who have missed entire seasons due to injury made the list; and 2) mention with bogus reasoning one woman’s absence without addressing the fact that many more women also so should earn enough to make this list — based on their achievements in their respective sports.
Yes, Serena Williams — who has won 23 Grand Slam titles (to Roger Federer’s 20) — most definitely should be on the list even after taking a year off from the sport. If a person missing a year of competition is a reason for an athlete to be omitted from earnings and, therefore, from this list, what the heck is Chris Bosh doing coming in it at #65?
Bosh missed the last two seasons with blood clot issues. If a dude has earned so much in previous seasons that he’s still on the list, or continues to earn while not competing, women in any sport should get the same treatment. At minimum, Williams should be making bank on endorsement deals, despite taking a year off.
So, let’s analyze the current basketball players who are on the list against the current basketball players who are not on the list — but who should be — based on skill and achievement (championships, awards and records). The result, of course, is abject ridiculousness.
10 male basketball players who should not be on the Forbes 100 list
These players do not have the championships, records or awards to justify their bloated salaries.
#100: Nicolas Batum —no championships, records or awards
#95: Brook Lopez — all-time leading scorer for the NBA’s Nets, but no championships and no awards
#92: John Wall — making bank through endorsements, despite no championships, records or awards
#86: J.J. Redick — broke some records ... at Duke, but no championships, records or awards
#86: Steven Adams — making bank through endorsements, despite no championships, records or awards
#84: DeAndre Jordan — made one All-Star game and a few first-teams, but no other championships, records or awards
#82: Chandler Parsons — literally nothing
#74: Bradley Beal — one All-Star nod, but no other championships, records or awards
#69: Otto Porter, Jr. — ranked among top-five three-point shooters in recent seasons, but no championships, records or awards
#60: Jrue Holiday — one All-Star nod, one second-team All-Defense, but no other championships, records or awards
10 female basketball players who should be on the Forbes 100 list
These players do have the championships, records and awards to justify paying them much bigger salaries throughout their careers. Please note that the women on this list have much more on their resumes than could fit the formatting of this column — thus, further justifying the point.
Sue Bird — two-time WNBA champion, all-time WNBA assist leader, 10-time All-Star, five-time first-team nods, four-time Olympic gold medalist
Tina Charles — former Rookie of the Year by unanimous vote, one-time league MVP, fastest player in league history to 400, 500, 600 and 700 career rebounds, two-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time All-Star
Elena Delle Donne — one-time league MVP, two-time recipient of the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, three-time All-Star, former Rookie of the Year
Sylvia Fowles — two-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, one-time league MVP, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, three-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time All-Star
Brittney Griner — one-time WNBA champion, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, one-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time All-Star, most blocks in WNBA history
Maya Moore — four-time WNBA champion, one-time Finals MVP, one-time league MVP, former Rookie of the Year, five-time All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist
Nneka Ogwumike — one-time WNBA champion, former Rookie of the Year, one-time league MVP, four-time All-Star
Candace Parker — one-time WNBA champion, former Rookie of the Year, two-time league MVP, one-time Finals MVP, three-time All-Star, one-time All-Star MVP
Diana Taurasi — leading scorer in WNBA history, leading three-point shooter in WNBA history, three-time WNBA champion, four-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time Finals MVP, eight-time All-Star
Lindsay Whalen — four-time WNBA champion, three-time all first-team selections, three-time Peak Performer for Assists, two-time Olympic gold medalist, league leader in games won
Stopping at just 10 players was hard considering so many other greats out there! Age was certainly a factor in this list, though, as these record-breaking, award-winning hoopsters long ago earned their keep.
Game action
The women of the WNBA return to the courts today, with three big matchups on the schedule. Check back later for the preview.
Link lush
- “We want to bring people together and empower them — and that’s exactly what we did here today,” said Cheryl Reeve yesterday at an event to honor the Lynx’s 2017 WNBA Championship.
- Sports 4 Life donated big bucks to organizations across the country to help boost girls’ participation in sports.
- ESPN’s Michelle Voepel shares her top-five list of best duos in the WNBA this season. Anyone duos you feel should get at least an honorable mention?
- Although we’re only six or seven games into the season (and not even that much for some teams), the hot play is generating MVP buzz. Who’s in the race so far?
- Tamika Catchings to speak about leadership, sports and civil rights. For as great as Catchings was on the court, she’s equally great off of it.
- Gabby Williams has done the unthinkable. Say bu-bye to #MochaTrapuccino.
Scorching the status quo
In other news ...
- Malcolm Jenkins + poster board + Sharpie = GENIUS.
- Jenkins later spoke about the issues NFL players have been trying to bring attention to through kneeling ... not that anyone is listening.
- Steve Kerr on the silliness of “military sing-a-longs” and the Minnesota Lynx’s patriotic act of doing service.
- It’s Pride Month and people are speaking out about all sorts of things. Here, a gay former athlete offers advice to his still-playing closeted counterparts.
- Maria Sharapova lost 6-2, 6-1 to Garbine Muguruza of Spain and blames the loss on — you guessed it — Serena Williams, who withdrew from the tournament due to injury. Real champions don’t make excuses.
How to #WatchThemWork all season
Shine brighter. C’mon! You can do it. * flicker flicker *