Skip to main content

Madrid Open Owner Appears Open to a Shift Away From Equal Pay for Male & Female Tennis Players


Some readers might be avid tennis fans.  Some may have happened to notice the start of the French Open on Sunday in Paris.  Others may simply be interested in the continuing dialogue over equal pay.  Well, I have some good news:  This topic covers all those high points.


In comments to The New York Times earlier this month, Madrid Open owner, Ion Tiriac, suggested that his tennis tournament might look to move away from equal pay for male and female players.  In his comments to the Times, Tiriac stated that while female players may deserve more (in pay), it is important to calculate how much money male and female tennis players actually put on the table.  In his view, female players are not bringing in as much revenue as male players and therefore might not be "entitled" to equal pay going forward.  Tiriac went so far as to state he could struggle to pay equal prize money in future tournaments:  "If I increase the women's [pay], too, I am broke and I don't know how to do a tennis event."  (Note, the Madrid Open, one of only three tennis tournaments outside of the Grand Slam events that pays male and female players equally.)  

While this could blow over, as some expect, I do not think it will go as quietly if the Madrid Open does indeed decide to stop the practice of equal pay.  Readers might have noticed that equal pay has started to become a hot button issue as of late.  A few weeks ago,  a lawsuit was filed by members of the United States Women's National Soccer team which alleged wage discrimination in regards to unequal pay in comparison to members of the United States Men's National Soccer team.  That lawsuit came on the heals of the recent anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 as well as several other equal pay developments from around the country.

Although this is an issue that is primarily playing out over in Europe, I think quite a few advocates for equal pay in the United States will soon focus on this and rally around the fight for continued equal pay for male and female tennis players in the Madrid Open.  Stay tuned.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more