[Vause:] Welcome back, everybody. A short time ago, we got word that tennis executive, Raymond Moore, will step down as CEO of the BNP Paribas Open in California. That decision came after he made statements that stunned many people in and out of the sport.
[Raymond Moore, Ceo, Bnp Paribas Open:] They ride on the coattails of the men. They don't make any decision and they're lucky. They're very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I would go down every night on my knees and thank god that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were born because they carried the sport.
[Sesay:] Serena Williams quickly responded.
[Serena Williams, Tennis Pro:] There's only one way to interpret that, get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not we, as women, have come a long way. And we shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point.
[Sesay:] The World Tennis Association also condemned the comments saying they go against its code of conduct.
[Vause:] Now, the response to Moore's comments from the top-ranked men's player is raising eyebrows, raising the issue of equal male and female payers. He says that male players should play for more because there's more spectators for the men's matches. Joining us is Denise White, CEO and founder of the sports management firm, Entertainers and Athletes Group. Thank you so much for joining us.
[Denise White, Ceo & Founder, Entertainers And Athletes Group:] Thank you for having me.
[Sesay:] The comments by Raymond Moore are deplorable. He's resigned. But the bigger issue here, and we touched upon this, he is gone but he is speaking to this culture, this think process, that still exists in sport.
[White:] Unfortunately, I think a lot of his comments are indicative of his generation. The problem with that is a lot of his generation is still running the tournament. I think it was amazing, wonderful, great, that he resigned. He needed to. But I think we need to start getting people in place that have a view that women's sports is just as equal, if not better, than men's sports. When you have people running it all starts from the top-down. When you have people that are running an organization, whatever sports organization that is, that has that type of idealism that women are lesser than men, that's how everyone is going to view it. But the minute you change that idea, you change that process, you change that conversation, that's when we start to have change in women sports.
[Vause:] How do you change that? In tennis, women don't get equal time on the top courts. Men's finals end the tournament. It seems like the women's events are the de facto event. How do you make the switch, the Australian open finishes with the women's singles instead of the men's?
[White:] That, again, comes from the top-down, from commercialism, to television, where the viewership comes from. It has to come from those heads of whether a
[Vause:] Can't this be driven by the viewers and the fans?
[White:] Absolutely, it can. But not enough people are vocal about it. We have Serena and other women, part of the tour, talking about it. Sometimes women are more reserved in speaking about what we want. We have been taught, don't talk about what you want, don't tell everyone that we should be at the top of something, or the lead of something, or the CEO of a company. It's, be pretty, be quiet, go home, have babies.
[Sesay:] To that point, just to pick up on your thought process there, should we see the women band together more? Should we see more collective action on the part of women?
[White:] Absolutely. Absolutely. Billie Jean King said something great today and it resonated. She was a pioneer for the sport, so many years ago. If we can get that thought process going and get the conversation going again. But really start making people at the top start changing and making different decisions when it comes to women's sports. That's where really, it starts.
[Vause:] You mentioned 7 percent of all women sports.
[White:] 7 percent of all women sports are televised.
[Vause:] Televised.
[White:] 93 percent of men's.
[Vause:] Let's play devil's advocate. If there was a viewership, people would want to watch it. People want viewers. If there was demand for it, they would put it out.
[White:] I think there is demand for it. I don't think it's getting heard.
[Sesay:] Agreed. At the end of the day, they're getting the advertising dollars, getting paid. The people in the companies recognize the value of the women.
[White:] Absolutely. That's where you try to figure out where the disconnect is. Everything from Dove to Clairol to Maybelline, these women are selling products. These women are sports athletes. Where is the disconnect that we don't have more dollars for women to have more viewership on more networks? Where is that disconnect? And it comes from the top.
[Vause:] Great points.
[Sesay:] Great points, Denise.
[Vause:] Appreciate it.
[Sesay:] Appreciate it.
[White:] Thank you for having me.
[Sesay:] Thank you.
[Vause:] We would like to talk more but we're out of time.
[Sesay:] I'm Isha Sesay. The news continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett right after this.