美国国家公共电台 NPR--Brittney Griner's imprisonment in Russia drew attention to WNBA salaries

Brittney Griner's imprisonment¹ in Russia drew attention to WNBA salaries

Transcript²

Now that Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian prison, will the WNBA reconsider how much it pays its players? (Story aired on All Things Considered on Dec. 9, 2022.)

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

While WNBA star Brittney Griner enjoys her return to the U.S., there is a conversation worth having about why Griner was in Russia in the first place. All right. Now, long story short - female basketball players have an opportunity to get paid substantially more overseas than they do here in the U.S. But in the nearly 300 days since Griner's detention³, how has the conversation around women's pay equity⁴ in sports advanced? Here's NPR's Andrew Limbong.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE⁵: According to the experts I talked to, there have been more conversations about pay and the WNBA since Griner's imprisonment. In fact, just recently, Kelsey Plum from the Las Vegas Aces⁶ went viral for comments she made on "The Residency Podcast" talking about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE RESIDENCY PODCAST")

KELSEY PLUM: We are not asking to get paid what the men get paid. We're asking to get paid the same percentage of revenue shared.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Got it.

PLUM: You know what I'm saying?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Got it. Got it. So that's a huge misconception.

PLUM: That's a huge misconception.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Got it. OK, cool.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: For sure, 'cause everybody is like...

LIMBONG: But have these conversations directly translated to dollars and cents for female athletes?

ALICIA JESSOP: I wish that was the outcome.

LIMBONG: That's Alicia Jessop, associate professor of sport administration at Pepperdine University and the founder⁷ of Ruling Sports, a website that covers the intersection⁸ between business and sports.

JESSOP: But if my Twitter account shows anything, a lot of people are really digging their heels in on these women being paid enough in the WNBA and that - what else could they ask for?

LIMBONG: To back up a bit, even before getting caught in the middle of a massive story with huge geopolitical consequences, Brittney Griner was a star with some name recognition. She was the first openly gay athlete to be signed to an endorsement⁹ deal by Nike and an Olympic gold medalist. And even she felt the need to play in Russia.

JESSOP: Wherein a person like Brittney Griner was earning over a million dollars per season compared to her WNBA salary, which is just over $200,000 a season.

LIMBONG: And it's not just Griner. For decades, WNBA players have found massive financial opportunities in Russia that they couldn't find here. NPR has reached out to the head of the WNBA Players Association, but we haven't heard back yet. But Jessop says that the players did have some factors going for them when they last negotiated their collective bargaining agreement. And since then, WNBA viewership has gone up, with 2022 being its most-watched regular season in 14 years. But with the war in Ukraine still ongoing¹⁰, many players have lost that option of going to Russia to play.

JESSOP: So these athletes have lost their greatest source of income. And that should be damning to the WNBA. It should be damning to the owners of these teams. It should be damning to every corporation in America who says it's investing in women and believes in women and wants to empower women.

KETRA ARMSTRONG: We have to make the choice that we're going to do better. How dare us let other countries treat our own citizens in the sport realm better than we do.

LIMBONG: Ketra Armstrong is a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan. She says it'll take a deeper cultural shift for there to be any significant move in on the question of paying female athletes in the WNBA.

ARMSTRONG: So we need strategic marketing¹¹. We need strategic business plans, comprehensive business plans that will grow the market, that will grow their fan base, that will engage them with corporate¹² partners that would allow them to get extra moneys. All of these things is what the NBA has been doing for years, and we need to have the same type of intentionality for the WNBA.

LIMBONG: And Armstrong says that we don't points to some still deeply held beliefs as to where we think women belong.

Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

1 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

4 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 aces   

abbr.adjustable convertible-rate equity security (units) 可调节的股本证券兑换率；aircraft ejection seat 飞机弹射座椅；automatic control evaluation simulator 自动控制评估模拟器n.擅长…的人( ace的名词复数 )；精于…的人；（ 网球 ）（对手接不到发球的）发球得分；爱司球

参考例句：

• The local representative of ACES will define the local area. ACES的当地代表将划定当地的范围。 来自互联网
• Any medical expenses not covered by ACES insurance are the sole responsibility of the parents. 任何ACES保险未包括的医疗费用一律是父母的责任。 来自互联网

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

9 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。