Martina Navratilova Says BBC Pays John McEnroe 10 Times More Than Her for Wimbledon Coverage

BBC says that Navratilova and McEnroe's roles are not comparable. 
Martina Navratilova Says BBC Pays John McEnroe 10 Times More Than Her for Wimbledon Coverage
Martina Navratilova Says BBC Pays John McEnroe 10 Times More Than Her for Wimbledon Coverage /

In a BBC Panorama report titled "Britain's Equal Pay Scandal," Martina Navratilova says she is "angry" over BBC's wage gap between her £15,000 salary and John McEnroe's reported £150,000 earnings for Wimbledon broadcasts.

McEnroe was listed on a list of the network's highest-paid personalities. Navratilova claims that she was told that she was receiving a comparable amount to the men with a similar role.

Here's what Navratilova said in a clip from the show:

"It's hard to really compare exactly because some people work longer days, maybe a few more programs whatever but overall, it was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000," Navratilova says. "I get about £15,000 for Wimbledon and unless John McEnroe's doing a whole bunch of stuff outside of Wimbledon, he's getting at least 10 times as much money than I am for very comparable work."

"I mean, it's shocking. If really this happens to me then, you know for it's a part-time job, it's two weeks of my life but for the women that work there full-time, maybe the discrepancy's not that large but it adds up over a lifetime. It adds up to an amazing amount of money. So it's extremely unfair and you know it makes me angry for the other women that I think go through this."

BBC responded with a statement to Panorama that said McEnroe and Navratilova perform different roles on the team and that "John's role is of a different scale, scope and commitment." The network added that "they are simply not comparable."

The full statement from the BBC can be read below:

The Panorama report estimated that McEnroe made 30 appearances on last year's Wimbledon broadcast while Navratilova made 10.


Published
Chris Chavez
CHRIS CHAVEZ

An avid runner, Chris Chavez covers track and field, marathons and the Olympics for Sports Illustrated.