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Martina Navratilova slams BBC over Wimbledon pay discrepancy

The nine-time Wimbledon champions says she gets paid a fraction of John McEnroe's eranings.

The nine-time Wimbledon champions says she gets paid a fraction of John McEnroe's eranings. Photo: Getty

Tennis great Martina Navratilova has hit out at the BBC after discovering fellow Wimbledon television pundit John McEnroe is paid at least 10 times more than her.

McEnroe’s pay packet of £150,000 to £199,999 ($270,000-$361,000), was revealed in a list of the BBC’s top-paid talent last summer.

Navratilova, 61, told television current affairs program Panorama she is paid around £15,000 by the BBC for her commentator role at Wimbledon.

“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”, she said.

Navratilova said 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 …

“(I’m) not happy … It’s shocking … It’s still the good old boys network … The bottom line is that male voices are valued more than women’s voices.”

Navratilova, who was crowned Wimbledon ladies’ champion nine times, said her agent will ask for more money in future.

BBC Sport told Panorama “John and Martina perform different roles in the team, and John’s role is of a different scale, scope and time commitment”.

“They are simply not comparable. John’s pay reflects all of this, gender isn’t a factor.”

Panorama said it estimated McEnroe, 59, who was crowned Wimbledon champion three times, appeared around 30 times for the BBC at Wimbledon last year, compared to Navratilova’s 10 appearances.

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