Female athletes should not make as much money as male athletes

Thank you con for your argument, but I now must respectfully poke gaping holes in your logic “In terms of fairness, women should be paid as much; Women have been traditionally suppressed in sports, with women's professional sports only coming into fruition during the late 1960's (Wikipedia 1). In contrast, professional men's sports have existed since the ancient Greeks, and therefore its no surprise that men have a large lead in professional sports, since they have been around a lot longer. We don't know what women's sports would be like today if there had been an equal amount of attention to women's sports since the time of the ancient greeks. In order to give women a chance, some initial money is needed in order to attract female athletes and garner public attention. It also does public good by alienating gender roles and making women in general feel equal to men. Should men also be paid more in the work force, because traditionally more men have worked than women? Of course not--gender equality is an important societal value in the United States, and promoting fairness is usually a good thing.” - This is a moot point because you did not prove why it is fair to pay female athletes equally to men. You made a point about pay equality in the workforce, but in the workforce, women largely do equal work to men, whereas in athletics, a professional women often competes on the same level as high school or college men. For example, the women’s world record in the mile run is 4:12.56 and in the 2012 high school spring track season, more than 50 high school boys ran faster than this(Some of them as young as sophomores in high school). It does not seem fair at all to pay women equally for subpar performances, does it? - Source:http://www.milesplit.com... “Addressing the economical side, the wnba is a relatively new market. Like all business ventures, some initial investment is needed in order to generate profit in the long run. With more and more women becoming involved in sports in first world countries everyday, its an emerging new market that NBA business officials are trying to capitalize on. In 20 years, professional women's sports will likely make substantial profit, and the investment will pay off, since it will be more appealing to women (the other 50% of the worlds population). Therefore, sports should pay women equal amounts compared to men in order to expand a new market and make more profit in the long run.” - This does not show that female athletes deserve equal pay either. There is no guarantee that the WNBA or any women’s sport will turn a profit in 20 years. You also did not show that women’s sports would be more appealing to women. Therefore, this is also a moot point. Con also said that testosterone is an unfair advantage and that gender roles keep women from performing well in sports. But why is testosterone an unfair advantage, this is like saying that having a photographic memory is an unfair advantage in school. Should athletes not be allowed to use the talents they were born with? No, they should use their talents to the fullest and they will be paid based on performance, whether or not the women can “keep up”. Also, no-one forces women to conform to gender roles, they can do whatever they want, they choose to conform if they do so. Also you said that sports like golf and NASCAR require less strength to succeed and therefore women have a better chance to succeed. However, I have done the NASCAR experience in Disneyworld, and you have to wrestle with the wheel to make those cars turn. And if they don’t require strength, then why doesn’t Danica Patrick win NASCAR Races, or Michelle Wie win men’s golf tournaments? Maybe because they are not as great of athletes as the men they compete against, so they do not deserve equal pay for their worse performances. “The list goes on, but the main point is that female athletes don't receive as much attention as male athletes due to gender roles and the history of the suppression of women.” - Is it at all possible that Female athletes do not get the same attention because they are in a vast majority, worse athletes than men? I know that when I watch pro marathons, I watch the men finish and then tune out because I do not want to wait 15 minutes to watch the pro women finish behind hundreds of amateur men. MY CASE Female athletes that compete with male athletes usually do not achieve the highest level of success. Babe Zaharias never won a PGA tour event against men. Jackie Mitchell may have gotten lucky in striking out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, because even the greatest baseball players only get hits 1 out of every 3 tries (I would be impressed if she struck either one out three times in a game), but she did not demonstrate a long record of striking out men. Seana Hogan is a brute athlete, but she competes in ultra cycling, a sport usually done by a very few as a hobby, or retired pro cyclists as exhibitions. She competes in a sport that receives very little coverage and has few participants, so she is not a very good example. I would also bet that Bradley Wiggins, or Fabian Cancellara could destroy her record if they tried in their primes, instead of at 50 years old. Even Billy Jean Kings win in the battle of the sexes meant nothing for equal pay. This article from Wikipedia demonstrates my opinion. - “A few critics were less than impressed by King's victory. King was 26 years younger, and some experts claimed that it was more an age versus youth game. According to Jack Kramer, "I don't think Billie Jean played all that well. She hit a lot of short balls which Bobby could have taken advantage of had he been in shape.” - Also remember that Bobby Riggs was well past his prime at over 50 years old. Also, If women want to win the same amount of prize money that men make, they can compete against men for that prize money. Since women really cannot compete against men and play at a much lower level of competition, they get a lower amount of prize money. That is what fair actually is. Women should not be accommodated because they can’t perform as well as men. I agree with equal pay for equal work, but female athletes do subpar work as compared to men and therefore do not deserve equal pay!