Full-Court Press

MASTER P AND THE WOMEN OF THE NEW GLOBAL MIXED GENDER COED PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE ARE MAKING HISTORIC STRIDES IN THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL PAY.

- Rachaell Davis

The conversation around equal pay is one that has deep roots but has yielded slow progress. A far cry from the passing of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, today’s legislative efforts toward successfully closing the wage gap between men and women seem to have come to a standstill across the board. However, hip-hop mogul turned consummate businessman Master P and the new Global Mixed Gender Basketball league (GMGB) are taking the discussion beyond the confines of the House floor and into new territory: basketball courts.

As 2017 has proved, the fine lines between sports and politics have all but blurred, with more and more high-profile athletes using their platforms to take a stand against social injustices. For GMGB President

Percy “Master P” Miller, the issue of pay equality is one that sits at the top of the priority list, specifically for women in sports.

“Men and women playing basketball together professionally, that’s unheard of,” Miller says. “When you talk about equal rights and equal pay, in this league the women make the same amount as the men. A woman or a man could also be named MVP of this league. These ideas were already in place with this league and then we implemented them once we came abroad. We also have women in leadership positions and perspectives from women on how to run a business, which you don’t see in professional sports. ”