Given the absolute trash performance by the Michigan State Spartans in their game against Minnesota last night, I want to talk about something happier today. It's likely they are going to fall quite a ways in the rankings despite the precedent that was set with Michigan earlier in the season.
As I said though, I'd like to focus on something a bit more positive today.
I'm not sure how I missed it, but yesterday was NGWSD. Don't worry, if you have no idea what that stands for, I was in the same boat until about 5:00 PM yesterday. It's one of those things where you say "I was this old when I learned...".
That NGWSD stands for National Girls & Women in Sports Day
Now, before you get all political on me and start arguing about why we need this day in the first place, let's just accept that it does exist and move on from there. Personally, I'm all for it. While I don't think every little thing needs to be celebrated in this world, I do acknowledge that women are and have been marginalized for far too long and if it takes a day for people to realize that, then go for it.
If you think it's a bunch of hooey, go have a talk with the US Women's Soccer team and ask them all about it. Better yet, go have a talk with one of the ladies that play in the WNBA. The average salary in the NBA is 11 to 13 million USD. The average salary in the WNBA is $120,00 to $130,000. Yeah, that's a pretty big difference. In fact, the "star" WNBA players likely make more money in guest appearances and promotions than they probably make for actually playing the game.
How sad is that?
In fact, it's only recently that Volleyball and Softball have gotten their own leagues at the professional level. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League has only been around for a year or two now and they just announced that one of the Tennessee ace pitchers has signed a landmark deal with them to help promote the league and the sport. This deal creates a natural bridge between the university level and now the professional level.
In the past, there wasn't much life after softball for many of the ladies when they graduated from college. If you were one of the upper echelon players, you might get a job as a commentator with one of the major networks, but most everyone else had some major that they ended up falling back on. With the introduction of the AUSL they now have more options. Of course, salaries in the AUSL are going to be nothing like you would expect in the MLB. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the athletes still have to work regular jobs to pay the bills.
It's a start that is long overdue though.
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