This season, NBA player Michael Porter Jr. has dedicated his in-season shoewear to driving more awareness to Breanna Stewart’s game and other talented WNBA players who deserve their flowers. But a recent podcast appearance raises questions about his reasoning for doing so.
Porter has been adamant that WNBA players should have their own signature shoes. However, his tone was seemingly much different when he sat down with Ryan Clark’s The Pivot Podcast to discuss other issues affecting women’s basketball players, like the pay disparity between the NBA and WNBA. Former NFL player Fred Taylor asked Porter if he’s been outspoken about the pay wages in the WNBA, and his response is turning heads.
(See the clip below and the 35:40 mark of the video for full context.)
this wasn’t advocating for women’s hoops at all smh it’s actually insulting https://t.co/bwbJDLixIe pic.twitter.com/NArMYhzTvJ
— alexis (@alexisfromvegas) February 3, 2024
Here’s what Michael Porter Jr. said:
“I see it from both sides. 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. 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. Their TV deals aren’t the same. So, as much as I advocate for women and their equality and the respect of their craft and all those things, you can’t pay them the same thing. I do feel like there should be a little way to make a little bit more money because they are very talented.”
Where do I start?
Is it when he referred to the players as females and did not use the same language for his counterparts, thereby reducing their value to only that of what they are biologically?
Is it when he was dismissive of ping pong and women’s basketball players in their respective sports and then suggested that women’s basketball isn’t truly basketball?
Is it when he suggests that people don’t watch women’s basketball and aren’t packing out arenas, like the WNBA did for the 2023 finals? (Or when the Atlanta Dream led the league in sell-out games?) Is it when he says you can’t pay women the same thing but then says he’s an advocate for women?
I’m trying to understand how Porter can claim to be an advocate but then be uninformed and dismissive of those same women. I’m trying to wrap my mind around how Porter is for the WNBA, but doesn’t know the progress a league just under 28 years old has made compared to the NBA, which has been around for over 75 years, despite clear hurdles to equality and growth.
(For comparison, the NBA was still struggling in its 30th year of operation, and it stayed that way well into the 1980s, as playoff games were taped on delay at the time. It’s no secret that the WNBA has faced its fair share of hurdles, but ignoring its tremendous growth, especially in 2023, is an intentional choice.)
Porter’s response to someone asking about what he has done to support women in their quest for better pay leads me to believe that his recent advocacy through shoes is merely performative. His campaign feels inauthentic and screams, “I stand with women’s basketball players, like my mom and my siblings, but I draw the line at tangible actions to support them.”
Porter’s words are incredibly alienating, but I can’t say that I’m shocked by his seemingly disingenuous aurora. It is a painfully loud reminder of how far the WNBA must go to combat misconceptions and discrimination. Everyone wants to be an advocate until it’s time to be an advocate.
Be better, Michael Porter Jr., and, for goodness’ sake, educate yourself.
