NBA
Michael Porter Jr. is in the eye of the storm after comparing WNBA players to ping pong stars
Antonio is a life long sports enthusiast and professional journalist, who shares an obssesive urge to find and dig up the most interesting facts to guide gamblers towards more exciting, yet safe bets. In his own words, ''you can never really know enough about the things you love''.
All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated05 Feb 2024
Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. has come under fire this weekend after a recent interview surfaced the internet where he compares women’s basketball to ping pong stars. The Denver forward, who didn’t seem to want harm WNBA players, simply gave his honest take on why female athletes receive lower salaries than men.
It all started last month when the 25-year-old made headlines for wearing Breanna Stewart’s signature shoes during NBA matches and was asked on The Pivot podcast if he supported women’s fight for pay equity. He started out by saying he wore these sneakers to “bring more awareness to the WNBA and give those women the flowers that they deserve.”
However, he came under scrutiny when he continued to organize his thoughts on the matter, explaining that even though WNBA players are “very talented,” that doesn’t necessarily mean they should receive the same amount of money as NBA athletes.
Michael Porter Jr. Under Fire For Comparing WNBA Players To Professional Ping Pong Players And Suggesting To Lower The Rims For Popularity Purposes https://t.co/UhSWC4N2ZC pic.twitter.com/zNGzwK3h0i
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 4, 2024
The Nuggets star further described his stance by comparing females in professional basketball with the sport of ping pong. “I see it from both sides,” Michael said. “I know these females want to get paid more and they’re very talented, but so is a famous ping pong player.
“The best ping pong player is just as talented as the best basketball player, that doesn’t mean they’re going to get paid the same. It’s what the people want to watch. So as much as I understand females wanting the same treatment as men basketball players, it’s a different sport. They’re not packing out the arenas.”
However, Porter Jr. did recognize that women should earn more than they currently do. “Obviously their TV deals aren’t the same. So as much as I advocate for women and equality and the respect of their craft… you can’t pay them the same thing,” he said. “But I do feel like there should be a way to make a little bit more money for them because they are very talented.”
The Denver forward later suggested that the WNBA might consider “to lower the rims” so that female athletes can increase slam dunks. Nevertheless, podcast host Ryan Clark made the distinction between equal pay and equal “revenue share.”
“I think the big thing obviously when you’re thinking about negotiations, labour unions and different things like that, I don’t believe there is any woman who believes she should get paid as a man gets paid,” he said. “It’s more about the revenue share. It’s more about percentage. I think those things play into it and then the other side is treatment within their own organisations.”
Porter Jr. had insisted last month that he wears Breanna Stewart’s shoes to show his admiration for female basketball players
Many WNBA players have taken social media by storm to question Porter Jr.’s comments about their sport, including Aces guard Kelsey Plum who back in 2022 made headlining-statements asking for female basketball players to be “paid the same percentage of revenue shared”.
During the interview with the Nuggets star, the player insisted that he wore Breanna Stewart’s shoes as a sign of admiration for the female basketball players inside his family, as he assures that his mother Lisa used to average 58.7 points per contest back when she was a high school senior.
“You have guys wearing women’s shoes, and it’s usually the other way around… I just think it’s cool for me to be able to represent that,” the 25-year-old said when first asked in the podcast show about the sneakers he was wearing during NBA games.
The forward hopes people will understand that his comments don’t mean he doesn’t admire women in sports, as he’s always been surrounded by athletic women. “… I’ve always respected women that play, and we’ve always talked about my mum being probably the best in the family,” he concluded.
