Would Britney Griner have been arrested if wages in women's basketball wer not so low i the United States? All industries are affected by the gap in earnings between men and women including in sports. Historically, women have been paid about a dollar less than their male counterparts.
A Business Insider article argues that the career choices of WNBA star Britney Griner who is being detained in Russia on suspicion of drug possession caused the situation. ". . .the circumstances that led to Griner's arrest could have been avoided entirely had the American market placed a higher value on her talent. The legendary hooper was only in Russia to supplement her income." Griner was in fact in Russia to play in the offseason where pay is significantly higher. With UMMC Ekaterinburg team, the 6'9" pro baller earns $1 million per season, according to The Arizona Republic's Jeff Metcalfe. Griner is set to take home a league-maximum $227,900 annual base salary from the Phoenix Mercury,
The salary range for NBA pros ranges from the upper $300 thousand to about $45 million a year.
The fight for fair pay has been going on for years.
Just this week, women in soccer waged a legal battle to secure fair pay in their field . "Players from the United States women's national team have settled their class action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for a total of $24 million, the two sides announced in a court filing on Tuesday."
This major win for pay equity in sport and the Griner story is another avenue for conversation that will hopefully spread more broadly.
To be fair, when Griner was arrested at the Moscow airport in February, it was not because she went to work in Russia. She had in her possession a substance that is illegal in the country. But as we consider the long history of salary inequality in the U.S., her story is a profound illustrates woman's career in the sports versus a man's is is severely undervalued.
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