Sports are entertaining and we love watching them. Some sports are paid more than others and that is a fact. A rower cannot even get enough money to sustain their career unless they are a superstar, while an average or even below average football player, playing in the Premier League, will get enough money to last a lifetime, should they be smart about their finances.

Sports are also subject to sports betting and fans all over the world, who use betting sites with registration bonus to make the most out of their betting experience. 

But, one thing that has not changed in sports, is the salary for men and women. Men were always paid more and that simply isn’t fair. There are unique examples throughout history when they fought for equality. Here they are, in no particular order.

Katherine Switzer’s Iconic Marathon

The Boston Marathon is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious marathons. It is a race that many runners look to as it is expected that records will be broken there. Since the marathon’s inception, it was a men-only race, and had been for 70 years, from 1897 until 1967. 

In 1967, Katherine Switzer was the only woman to run and finish the race. There was another woman in the previous year’s race, called Roberta Gibb, though she did not have a bib. Near the end of the race, in the last two miles, an official tried to rip off Switzer’s bib. Switzer’s boyfriend pushed the official away forcefully. The moment was actually caught on camera and was a turning point in sports for women. 

WNBA Players Fight For Their Lives

The WNBA is not the most popular of sports leagues in the world, even though it is one of the best basketball leagues in the world. In 2018, Nneka Ogwumike, star player of the Los Angeles Sparks and the president of the players’ association contacted the Players’ Tribune, saying that the women were ready to quit their contracts. They wanted better resources, more sponsors and investment and of course, a better paycheck. This was in November.

In January 2019, they got all of that. The top athletes started earning more than half a million dollars per year and the rest got more than decent salaries. It takes one person to start it all, and when others join in, things quickly change.

Billie Jean King Fights for Tennis Rights

Women in tennis nowadays have better salaries than fifty years ago. Billie Jean King was among the first women players to fight for women’s rights, in 1973. She won her match against Bobby Riggs, who was a self proclaimed chauvinist. After that, the WTA was formed and the women were ready to opt out of the US Open if the prize pool for women was not the same as for men. The US Open became the first tournament to pay equal prizes for men and women.

Women in sports have had many fights for equality over the last century. These are some of the iconic ones.