I just saw a headline that Roger Federer has been fined $1,500 for using profanity towards the chair umpire in the championship match. This follows Serena Williams $10,000 fine for telling a lines judge she wanted to “shove this ball down your f—ing throat” after a bad call. Is this is a joke?
The cash prize Roger Federer received for finishing as the runner-up at this year’s US Open was $800,000. That means his fine represents less than 0.2% of his winnings. Add to that all the money Federer made from tennis and endorsements this year, the amount is trivial. Forbes Magazine listed Federer as the 11th best paid athlete last year at $33 million. Using that, the fine represents less than 0.005% of his annual income.
In 2007, the average household income in the United States was just over $50,000. Applying that fine ratio to the average household, that equates to a fine of approximately $2.25. The average American probably loses more change than that in a year.
I understand the fines are equally set for all players, so the ‘worst’ paid player at the US Open would pay a higher percentage of annual income, but this is absurd. What is the point of fining someone if you fine them the equivalent of $2.25? I have a hard time understanding how anyone could rationally create this fine structure if, in fact, there was any real attempt to curb behavior that is viewed as unacceptable.
I’ve thought for a number of years that athlete fines should be based on % of salary rather than an absolute dollar amount. In the current system, the best paid players have no disincentive to behave well since the fines are so miniscule relative to their incomes. In tennis that might be difficult, since there is no set annual salary, but something should be done to make the penalty an actual deterrent.
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