Martina Navratilova was paid roughly £15,000 for her Wimbledon commentator role last year.GETTY IMAGES
Former tennis player Martina Navratilova accused the BBC of "valuing male voices more than female voices" after discovering that fellow Wimbledon pundit John McEnroe is paid "at least 10 times more than her," according to Nicola Slawson of the London GUARDIAN. Navratilova, who was crowned Wimbledon ladies' champion nine times, said that she was paid about £15,000 by the BBC for her commentator role at Wimbledon while McEnroe earned between £150,000 and £199,999. In an interview for "Panorama: Britain’s Equal Pay Scandal," which aired on Monday, Navratilova said, "It was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000. ... 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." Navratilova said that she was told she was getting paid a "comparable amount to men doing the same job as her," adding, "We were not told the truth, that's for sure. It's still the good old boys' network. ... The bottom line is that male voices are valued more than women's voices" (GUARDIAN, 3/18). In London, Hannah Furness reported BBC Sport said, "John and Martina perform different roles in the team and John's role is of a different scale, scope and time commitment," adding, "They are simply not comparable. John's pay reflects all this; gender isn't a factor." Three-time Wimbledon champion McEnroe, 59, is estimated to have appeared "around 30 times" for the BBC at Wimbledon last year, compared to Navratilova's 10. "Panorama," which "explores the pay gap" at the BBC, "follows damaging claims about unequal salaries" paid to broadcasters (TELEGRAPH, 3/19).
