Well... This article isn't comparing apples to apples, it's comparing bananas to peaches, sweet succulent peaches. Amirite?
As a coach of both men and women athletes in a sport where there is very little money I find this thread disappointing. I will agree that women should be paid proportionally to what their sport brings and wouldn't argue that equal pay should be made to make up disparity in sports. That said in the case of the USWNT they have established a standard of excellence and fame that is greater than the men's while yes the Women's World Cup is at a different year than the Men's they made it very successful and they should be rewarded for that success. Maybe if not through FIFA the US organization should award them for winning it all over a mediocre Men's team. More than the money issues what I find disappointing though is the attitudes that women sports are less than men or that the only interest in women sports is to admire their physical attractiveness. I've had women players work as hard and commit themselves to success in their sport as men. In this past weekends Collegiate Nationals in Judo my women player was as impressive as my top male player and showed more heart and fight than the rest of my team who are men. Granted my 63 kg woman wouldn't fare well if she had to fight my 81 kg male but then again my 60 kg man wouldn't fare well either if he had to fight 81 kg men. That doesn't make any of them any less athletes. Women's sports are sports.
I agree regarding women athletes still being athletes. At the same time, there is a reason why people are more inclined to watch women's tennis vs. say women's boxing. In my opinion, it's because they are typically more attractive women in tennis. going further, the top earning women athletes are 1.) dominating their sports (of course) and/or considered attractive. For those women's sports that bring in more money, I'd venture to say they make more money. I'm focusing on the money aspect, as that is what the article references with the USWNT. They shouldn't make as much since they don't bring in as much, period.
