More than five decades after tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in what was known as the “Battle of the Sexes,” the out lesbian sports icon is still being recognized — now by the US government — for her work advancing Title IX and the broader fight for LGBTQ rights and women’s rights.
Bipartisan legislation to bestow the 80-year-old King with a Congressional Gold Medal has cleared both houses of Congress and now heads to the president’s desk after most recently passing the House of Representatives on Sept. 17. The legislation, championed in the lower house by Democrat Mikie Sherill of New Jersey and Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, was first introduced a year ago.
King beat Riggs in 1973 — a year after the establishment of Title IX—in what quickly became a career-defining moment. She also made a name for herself by enjoying years of success on the tennis court, becoming a No. 1 player with 39 grand slam titles. King has continued to wield influence on LGBTQ issues in sports, including when she joined nearly 200 athletes four years ago in filing friend-of-the-court briefs against Idaho’s effort to ban transgender athletes from participating in sports in accordance with their gender identity.
King, already known as a sports trailblazer, will achieve another “first” when the bill is signed into law: She will be the only female athlete to receive a Congressional Gold Medal.
The Congressional Gold Medal, which requires Congressional approval, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are regarded as America’s highest civilian awards.
The tennis star reacted on X after the bill’s passage in the House of Representatives.
“Thank you,” King wrote. “I am deeply humbled and honored.”
“Billie Jean King’s lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace,” Sherrill said in a written statement. “That’s why it has been an absolute honor to help lead the bipartisan effort to add another ‘first’ to Billie Jean’s resume of trailblazing accomplishments: the first individual female athlete to earn the Congressional Gold Medal. From fighting for Title IX and equal pay, to her ongoing advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, Billie Jean King has truly impacted the lives of so many…”
The legislation is led in the upper chamber by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who is bisexual. The Senate passed the legislation unanimously.
“Billie Jean King is a living legend, a trailblazing icon whose success on the tennis court is matched by her pioneering work for gender equality off it,” Gillibrand said. “No one could be more fitting to receive the first Congressional Gold Medal awarded to an individual woman athlete than Billie Jean King.”
King and her wife, Ilana Kloss, got married in New York City on Oct. 18, 2018.
