‘Pretty ridiculous’: Debate rages as Liz Cambage lashes out at pay disparity

Liz Cambage is never short of an opinion and she has sparked a heated reaction after criticising a move by her own WNBA team.

Australian basketball star Liz Cambage has criticised the WNBA’s pay structure after it emerged a coach would earn four times more than the league’s highest-paid player.

The Las Vegas Aces, the team Cambage plays for, announced it had recruited Becky Hammon as their new head coach, poaching her from the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, where she had served as an assistant under legendary coach Gregg Popovich.

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Reports suggest Hammon will earn US$1 million (A$1.4 million) as coach of the Aces, making her the highest-paid person in the league.

While Hammon’s salary will be paid by Aces owner Mark Davis, it highlighted the disparity between the earnings of coaches and players WNBA.

The players on super-max contracts in the WNBA include Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi and Seattle’s Breanna Stewart, who earn US$228,000 (A$320,000) per season.

The WNBA salary cap for the upcoming season is $1,379,200, while there is no salary cap for coaches and executives.

Cambage, who was paid $221,000 last season for the Aces, took to social media on Wednesday to slam the huge gulf in earnings between players and coaches.

She tweeted: “ahhh yes the @WNBA, where a head coach can get paid 4X the highest paid players super max contract.

Liz Cambage has called out the WNBA’s pay disparity. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP

“lmao and y’all think imma spend another season upgrading my seat on a flight to get to games out of my own pocket.”

Cambage also shared her frustration at the fact the WNBA does not charter flights to games, meaning teams are often split across different flights and tall players have shell out themselves to pay for a seat upgrade.

The four-time All-Star sparked plenty of debate, with many arguing the issue at hand isn’t Hammon herself making good money, but rather the WNBA’s inadequate collective bargaining agreement.

In response to Cambage’s tweet, respected basketball journalist Holly Rowe said: “Put some respect on Becky Hammon’s name”.

Pundits defended Cambage for making a valid critique of the WNBA’s pay system.

SB Nation’s Brad Klopfer tweeted: “I think Liz Cambage’s tweet is pretty clearly a shot at the league not at Becky Hammon and I think it’s pretty ridiculous that it’s being interpreted as anything other than that.

“(Aces owner) Marc Davis is willing to shell out big bucks to get a competitive advantage with a coach. “Give him the same opportunity with players.”

Cambage may have played her last game for the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

Sports anchor Chris Williamson said: “If Sue Bird or Diana Taurasi said the same exact statement as Liz Cambage, certain people with influence would have a WAYYY different tone.”

Cambage may have burned some bridges at the Aces, where she has played two seasons, and will likely move to a different team in the off-season.

The 30-year-old is an unrestricted free agent and is one of the biggest names who will likely be traded in the free agency period, which began earlier this week.

Cambage’s career is focused on the WNBA after she controversially pulled out of the Opals’ Tokyo Olympics campaign and said she had zero interest in representing Australia at this year’s FIBA World Cup in Sydney.

Originally published as ‘Pretty ridiculous’: Debate rages as Liz Cambage lashes out at pay disparity