Draymond Green landed himself in hot water recently after sharing his thoughts on the gender pay gap in professional sports.
In a series of tweets, the Golden State Warriors forward argued that female athletes need to start generating more revenue if they expect to paid the same as their male counterparts.
Green followed up on the topic last week, telling reporters he was "really tired of seeing [female athletes] complain about the lack of pay, because they're doing themselves a disservice by just complaining."
"I'm really tired of seeing them complain about the lack of pay, b/c they're doing themselves a disservice by just complaining."
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) April 1, 2021
Today Draymond talked about his Tweets about women's sports that received criticism from athletes like @mPinoe & @Layshiac @kron4news #DubNation pic.twitter.com/7iUQ982jx9
Despite the near universal condemnation of Green’s comments from WNBA and USWNT players, including Megan Rapinoe, the NBA star has received support from one prominent voice in the fight for Equal Pay: Hope Solo.
What was said?
“I think I understand the sentiment of what Draymond Green was saying because I’ve said the exact same things.
“So how am I going to put down Draymond Green and then be a hypocrite?
“The Equal Pay fight began in 2015 and in my opinion that was way too late. The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1953, so by waiting until 2015 to do something about it was a failure on our part.
“And it was very much our team’s fault; we neglected our responsibility to future generations. And there came a point when we could have actually received equal pay through our negotiations, and we came very close to receiving equal pay.
“But the current team let that deal blow up in their faces.
“They signed a less-than-equal CBA. Not only that, they then decided to wait almost a year to file a class action lawsuit against the deal that they themselves signed and accepted.
“I look back at what we could have done.
“The team did not go on strike, and I’ve been left very frustrated with many of the players and multi-millionaires from companies who put on the facade that they care very deeply about equal pay. But then they don’t make legitimate and quantifiable sacrifices.
“Anyone can get on a microphone and wear an Equal Pay t-shirt, but [as was the case of] the suffrage movement, [those women] had to overcome fear for the betterment of everyone.
“Let’s call out corporations, even Nike, even if you’re sponsored by Nike. That is where we can really win these battles.
“I agree with Draymond Green: we cannot only complain, and we cannot act nicely.
“The current team in their negotiations with the Federation, in their own words, wanted to ‘be agreeable.’ But from day one this was going to be a fight, so throw out the niceties.
“Those in power don’t just give up their power. Every single male professional league in the United States has gone on strike [at one point or another] to get what they were fighting for.
“The leverage we have as players is our play, and in the past fear prevented us from going on strike - we lacked the courage to go on strike.
“We’re past the point now of bringing awareness. Everyone talks about women’s empowerment and equal pay, but we’re still not there.
“So I, like Draymond Green, am tired of talking about this.
“I believe that he meant well and he’s on our side. We have to do more.
“Why aren’t we going on strike?
“The Federation needs the players to play in the Olympics. The Federation needs the players for marketing purposes and to make money.
"Striking is self-sacrifice for the benefit of future generations.”
“We can’t blame people like Draymond Green for not understanding all the intricacies.
“It is confusing, and when the Federation says that the men make more revenue than the women, it confuses the general public.
“But we have the documents, we know the numbers.
“I just had a hearing in front of the United States Olympic Committee. I am the only athlete who has received the Soccer United Marketing documents that shows how much the women’s team is worth compared to the men’s. So I do know and understand these numbers."
Further reading:
HOPE SOLO: USMNT NOT BRINGING PRIDE TO THE CREST
