Perhaps it's because I'm a life-long freelancer who's never known the comfort and security of a regular monthly salary but when I read and heard claims by some former black players that they had been paid less than their equivalent white colleagues it struck me as the most vile form of prejudice, if true.
Neil, the suggestion that black rugby players have possibly not been fairly treated and equitably paid by the Cheetahs comes to mind. This piece by Sibusiso Mjikeliso for News24 discusses the matter (https://www.news24.com/sport/Rugby/PRO14/opinion-dwebas-scathing-comments-were-inarticulate-but-valid-20200526). I think that the mere existence of institutional practices established over years and years - as with the gender pay gap - make it very difficult for people from groups who've been historically unfairly treated to discern justifiable and fair differences in pay from inequitable treatment (what is justifiable and what is fair are often different, too). It becomes even more murky in sport, because the principles of "equal pay for work of equal value" are difficult to apply; players are essentially in the same role and performing the same broad task. How does one determine the relative value of players when sporting performance is so subjective? Stats and achievements (e.g. caps) can be used but they don't tell the full story. The US women's soccer team's legal battle against US Soccer for equal pay also comes to mind
Neil, the suggestion that black rugby players have possibly not been fairly treated and equitably paid by the Cheetahs comes to mind. This piece by Sibusiso Mjikeliso for News24 discusses the matter (https://www.news24.com/sport/Rugby/PRO14/opinion-dwebas-scathing-comments-were-inarticulate-but-valid-20200526). I think that the mere existence of institutional practices established over years and years - as with the gender pay gap - make it very difficult for people from groups who've been historically unfairly treated to discern justifiable and fair differences in pay from inequitable treatment (what is justifiable and what is fair are often different, too). It becomes even more murky in sport, because the principles of "equal pay for work of equal value" are difficult to apply; players are essentially in the same role and performing the same broad task. How does one determine the relative value of players when sporting performance is so subjective? Stats and achievements (e.g. caps) can be used but they don't tell the full story. The US women's soccer team's legal battle against US Soccer for equal pay also comes to mind