A PSA (Professional Squash Association) player recently
tweeted that women should not be receiving the same prize money as the men.
This came about after the recent US Open was played in October at the Drexel
University and both the men’s and women’s purses were $115K.
The PSA player was Brit Ben Coleman – world number 79. The
comment of course had many people up in arms. Sexist. Misogynistic. Narrow
minded. But Ben’s reasoning was pretty simple: The men bring a greater value to
the sport – they are the ones that attract more sponsors and viewers. Why
should women get the same pay if the men do the lion’s share of the revenue
raising? Overall, he’s right and it’s difficult to argue against that logic.
If you think that’s incorrect, then all you have to do is
look at their respective tour calendars. Also, the PSA recently held the World
Championship worth $315K. (Nick Matthew won in 5 games over Greg Gaultier in
the final). The WSA (Women’s Squash Association) World Championship is not
being held this year at all because they cannot
find a sponsor. That in itself is ridiculous. Equal prize money aside, how
can the women’s squash tour not have a world championship? (I am not
criticizing the WSA for that; it is terrible for squash that it isn’t happening
and I feel for the players.)
No matter what side of the argument you are on, Ben
Coleman’s comment didn’t just cause a twitter-sphere argument, it also caused a
PSA policy change. CEO Alex Gough shortly thereafter released a statement announcing
a gag-order on all PSA players. Basically, any PSA player is no longer allowed
to comment on social media anything that may bring the association into
disrepute. Say what?
That’s not unusual is sports. We hear often enough, for
example, that a coach or player is fined for criticizing an official in the NFL
or NBA. Squash players are in that same boat, a boat that
includes disparaging comments about any event, venue, staff, directors, other
individuals, the sport of squash in general, and – prize money. In other words,
you can say whatever you want so long as the PSA look good and agree with it.
Didn’t some countries try this once…?
Freedom of speech is clearly being suppressed here. I agree
that players should not be sharing with the social media world any personal attacks or insults about anyone
else – that’s just childish – but why should they not be able to express
opinions about the very tour they pay to be a part of? Isn’t constructive
criticism a necessary tool to improve any product and service? Maybe the PSA
think they already have the perfect product? PSA have threatened disciplinary
action against any player who steps out of line.
Which leads into the next scenario. One, where the very same
CEO - Alex Gough - should now be applying these disciplinary actions on himself.
In a league match in England recently, Alex Gough’s on court
behavior was apparently so over the top it warranted him being reported to
England Squash. Reports mention Gough had a few ‘disagreements’ with the
referee during his match, and on top of calling the ref names (swearing), he
also made rude hand gestures and suggested that “it was people like you (the
ref) that squash didn’t get into the Olympics”.
Now, squash didn’t get into the Olympics for many reasons. I
am sure that the wrestling community had a lot to do with the decision, but if
we forget about that and look just at the product of squash itself, blame can
be widespread. Yes, the quality of the refereeing is definitely a factor, but
the players themselves need to take responsibility too. Stop asking for so many lets. You know how to clear, you know how
to play through minimal interference, so do it. But – and this is where Mr.
Gough has ironically failed to see the light and lead by example – player behavior also turns people off.
There were (apparently) a few juniors present during the
match. Not exactly a great example set by the leader of the world squash tour.
To be fair, Gough has denied all allegations. He claims innocence across the
board. Fair enough. His word against many. I wasn’t there, so we can just go on
what’s reported on the websites. But, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right?
Something happened, and if Gough is innocent of all accusations, then there
must be a conspiracy going on.
But, for arguments sake, let’s say it is true; did Gough’s actions bring the sport of squash into
disrepute? Should he – as CEO – be disciplined by his own rules? At least issue
an apology? Admit the mistake and move on? His outburst wasn’t conducted on
social media – it was performed in front of live crowd including influential
juniors. That’s worse. A lot worse than tweeting an opinion about equal prize
money.
