Last week, Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) and Mikie Sherrill (New Jersey) announced that the legislation to honour 80-year old Billie Jean King with the Congressional Gold Medal, America’s highest civilian award, had been approved by the US House of Representatives, and is now heading for President Joe Biden’s signature.
Thank you. I am deeply humbled and honoured. Billie Jean King
The US Senate had already given the green light to the bill, demonstrating total support for the initiative.
This recognition coincides with the 50th anniversary of the famous ‘Battle of the Sexes’ in 1973, when King defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the most watched matches of all time, a year after the establishment of Title IX.
The match not only broke television records, but also shifted concepts on gender equality in sports.
King made a name for herself by enjoying years of success on the tennis court, becoming a World No 1 with 39 Grand Slam titles to her name, but it is with her off-court campaigns that she has made the most impact, particularly with her work advancing Title IX, and the broader fight for LGBTQ rights and equal rights.
She continues to wield influence on LGBTQ issues in sports, and she joined nearly 200 athletes 4 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.
Already known as a sports trailblazer, King is now achieving another ‘first’ when the bill is signed into law, as she becomes the only female athlete to receive a Congressional Gold Medal.
“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 honour 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 was 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.
“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.”
“Thank you,” King wrote. “I am deeply humbled and honoured.”
King, who married her wife, Ilana Kloss, in New York City on 18 October, 2018, joins a select group of athletes who have received the Congressional Gold Medal, including Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Jack Nicklaus, proving that her legacy transcends the boundaries of sport.
In 2009, King received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
