Another Wimbledon is almost upon us. Wimbledon starts on Monday, July 2nd. I’m really excited! The draws come out on Friday, just FYI, and it looks like Serena Williams will be seeded, which is a good move, in my opinion, for both Wimbledon and the US Open (the USO announced that they’ll be seeding former champions who took maternity leave too). Tennis conversations these days so often revolve around money, and who is being paid what and why.
Back in March, Martina Navratilova said in an interview that she had recently become aware of the fact that the BBC was paying John McEnroe ten times what they paid her for Wimbledon commentary. It’s true – in years past, the BBC paid Martina $15K- $20K, and they paid McEnroe $150K-$200K. Granted, they weren’t doing “the same” job – McEnroe was often scheduled to do commentary on the most high-profile men’s matches and a handful of high-profile women’s matches. Martina was and is used for more often for the lower-tier matches, the ones not on Center Court. Still, if we’re putting a value on commentary skills, Martina and John are the same, skill-wise. I would even put Martina ahead, because she’s so knowledgeable about so many players, male and female. She lives and breathes tennis, while McEnroe tends to only give a sh-t about the top guys. Anyway, McEnroe had some thoughts:
John McEnroe, the BBC commentator, has defended his Wimbledon pay package, which became the subject of a gender-equality row in March, by saying that he deserves his £150,000-plus remuneration. Speaking to reporters, McEnroe said: “It’s like if you work at a paper, and there’s a woman and a man, you’re going to get paid based on the job that you do in the opinion of the paper.”
In his latest comments on the issue, McEnroe declared himself supportive of the equal-pay principle. “If the girl does a better job, she should get more money,” he said, citing BBC presenter Sue Barker as one of his most admired colleagues. According to official figures, Barker earns more than £300,000 per year, which places her third on the list of BBC sports presenters behind Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. “I believe that Sue does a very good job,” McEnroe said, “but don’t tell her that, because her head is already very big. She is juggling and has got people in her ear all the time, that’s already a lot tougher than what I do.”
Navratilova has since resolved her disagreements with BBC Sport. In a tweet posted on June 8, she said: “Very happy to announce I will be working at Wimbledon, it’s good to see the BBC taking gender pay equality seriously.”
When asked if he had discussed the issue with Navratilova, McEnroe replied: “I’ve not spoken to her. But we’re not in the same place that often, it doesn’t come up. I’ve been fortunate, that I have been working with the BBC for at least 15 years [actually, since 2000] and it has given me the opportunity to present myself in a different way. At least, people see me in a slightly different light than they saw me on the court, so I think it’s been mutually beneficial, hopefully.”
“You’re getting paid based on the job you do…” Except there’s no real way to quantify when a commentator is doing a “bad job” versus a “good job.” Personally, McEnroe’s commentary rarely adds much for me, while I always learn something from Martina’s commentary. How do you quantify that? And how much of this is simply dependent on who gets assigned commentary on which match by the BBC? It’s not about the job Martina is doing versus the job McEnroe is doing, it’s about how “popular” they are with the BBC brass, which is mostly just saying… of course the Tennis Boys Club prefers McEnroe to Martina. Ugh.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
Always the a**, just like his tantrum-ly play.
Aww, Martina looks so pretty in that old photo! I’ve always had a big crush on her.
John has always been a male chauvinist so not surprised.
The women during his time would have beaten him fair and square and he knows it.
+1
The fact that he refers to women as “girls,” says a lot. “If the girl does a better job…”
And that he can’t understand that the whole problem is that the men at the top, the executives, are always going to think that another man is doing a good job, or a better job than the women, and that’s the problem. You can’t just declare that everyone is being paid based on their merit, and the men all just happen to be better at their jobs so they’re paid more, without questioning why so many bosses seem to think that men are just inherently better at work than women. Men can be very average at their work and still be considered good and worthy of high pay, even if they’re ugly, dress poorly, have poor hygeine, are rude to coworkers, come in late, refuse to work overtime, are slow to respond to emails and phone calls, treat their coworkers poorly, act like they’re a god and expect to be treated as such (or act very shy and socially awkward), and have a messy personal life. Women can’t exhibit any of those qualities. They have to be perfect in looks, dress, demeanor, etc, but of course they can’t act like they know they’re great, AND they have to perform exceptionally at their job just to be considered “fair,” and then they’ll still be paid less than men.
McEnroe…ugh. My husband used to play on the pro circuit (he actually beat Andy Roderick as a junior). He has a lot of stories like Anna Kornicova is the worst (as a person). We’ve gone out with Martina Hingis (pre coke bust). She was so quiet and didn’t drink or smoke, so I was surprised when she got busted for drugs! McEnroe is supposedly on medication for bi polar disorder. His friends were talking about him behind his back at a celebrity tennis event once and they said that they had hoped he was still on his meds. Of course, if this is true, it’s extremely sad, but might explain some of his behavior over the years. Anyway, he needs to seriously stop talking.
I don’t think you mean this to sound this way, but I just want to clarify for anyone reading: Bipolar disorder doesn’t make you a misogynist or a racist or a bigot. In a manic episode, the social filters that would stop you from saying or doing inappropriate things are gone, but the impulses still stem from who you are as a person. My manic episodes tended to manifest with over-spending, promiscuity (when single), and a tendency to drink more than advisable. I never once said something racist or bigoted while unmedicated, and while I am SO much happier on medication, I wasn’t a bad person without it. McEnroe is a misogynist, and his psychiatric issues are completely unrelated.
No, to be clear. I was in no way saying that his bi polar disorder made him sexist or a bigot but I am saying that he has displayed behavior in the past that would support that. I have people who are bi polar who are close to me and understand how people are affected by it. I am also sorry to hear you are as well, but you definitely misconstrued message. Not every comment needs to have a teachable moment. It’s emotionally exhausting. And it’s probably emotionally exhausting having to explain to people that they have misconceptions around mental health, so I get it but I am certainly not one of those people.
I don’t understand this pay equality argument when it comes to famous people or certain jobs AT ALL. It’s just bleeding obvious that in certain respects – if a person pulls in more people- more viewers, spectators, listeners – whatever….. they should get paid more.
McEnroe, to me, deserves to be paid more. I am more likely to watch a match he’s commentating on and I find him more entertaining than just about anyone. Martina is good technically – but dry. Why don’t they put her and Mac together? Nice balance.
He’s always been an egotistical douchebag, why change now?
Well, as a threshold matter, I don’t think the pay discrepancy was due to his skills as a commentator.
I can kind of see why McEnroe is paid more. He has name recognition. I barely follow tennis and I know who he is and if I’m flipping channels and see or hear him I stop. I have never heard of the other commentator. (like I said, I don’t really follow tennis.)
Now is that because McEnroe does more of the high profile matches that I recognize him, so is it a chicken-egg thing? Like he is paid more, gets the better matches and better TV spots, and therefore has name recognition that has carried on well past his career? Or is it because he was a better tennis player? Won more matches? (I don’t know the answer to the latter two.)
Some commentators ARE better than others but how do you quantify that? I’m certainly not going to take his word for it. But I prefer to listen to Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth over Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, you know?
But even if its just name recognition – is McEnroe’s name recognition worth hundreds of pounds more than Martina Navratilova’s? Probably not. So I’m glad that BBC has fixed it to her satisfaction.
And finally, with all that said – he can stop being an ass about it. Whatever the logic behind the pay discrepancy, he doesn’t have to be obnoxious. Although I guess that’s kind of his thing, right?
There is no way he has more name recognition than her. I would say they’re equal. I’ve never watched a pro-tennis match in my life and I’ve known who she was since I was a young child. He can pretend he’s not getting favoritism all he wants, but we all know what’s really going on.
can’t.
I guess it’s a matter of taste but I love McEnroes commentary. He’s very Alpha in the booth but he’s always fair and blunt.
The New York Times, New Yorker et all love him so he gets really good press. Like a lot of programming my guess is he’s compensated based on ratings,
I love what Martina has done for the game but she can be a little dry in the booth…
I totally agree. I love when John or his brother (but less so) are doing commentary, and they are especially good together. It has to do with charisma and a truly hilarious sense of humor. I think he earns it.
So a man’s status is worth ten times more than a woman’s. Thanks for clarifying that, BBC, and for quantifying it so neatly. And, oh, F-CK you, BBC.
Will never get why networks like using egotistical douchebags like John McEnroe or Alexis Lalas to provide commentary on sports when there are better and more qualified people to do so. The threshold is so low for these white males. Smh.
Ten times more in salary. To do the same job.
Mark Whalberg was just that much better than Michelle Williams too.
Nothing at all to do with being male other than males are obviously so much better at their jobs.
It’s not equal work though. I am an avid BBC wimbledon watcher and John McEnroe has been a tennis pundit and commentator there for years now. He also does video segments. I like Martina’s commentating too but she’s not as visible as John and hasn’t been with the BBC as long. Building up that experience within an organisation and with the British public has to count for something so I think he should be paid more. I don’t think he does a better job or that he is worth 10 times more than Martina, but he just works more for the BBC and gets paid more because of it.
Hi you took the words right out of my mouth and I couldn’t agree more. John has literally decades worth of experience broadcasting and commentating and I think that’s absolutely worth more and personally I think he brings in more audiences etc.
You’re personal experience and hers are clearly both different and neither are wrong. Untwist your knickers.
What I would really like to know, is why anyone pays anything at all to this arrogant windbag who is in love with the sound of his own voice. I’d pay him to shut up.
Is it possible for McEnroe not to refer to women as “girls”? “If the girl does a better job…” Honestly.