Billie King |
||
|
|
||
Billie King Relationships |
||
Who is Billie King dating?Click on the photos to find out Who's Dated Who...
|
||
Post Your Vote |
||
Vote Results |
||
Career Highlights |
||
Billie King Biography |
||
|
Billie Jean King has long been a champion for social change and equality. King created new inroads for women in sports and beyond during her legendary career and she continues to make her mark today. Among her many accomplishments are:
Named "one of the 100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" by Life Magazine in 1990. Won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis titles, including a record 20 titles at Wimbledon. Was one of nine players who broke away from the tennis establishment and accepted $1 contracts from tennis promoter Gladys Heldman in Houston. The revolt led to the birth of women’s professional tennis and the formation of the Virginia Slims Tour and Women’s Tennis Association. Empowered women and educated men when she defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the greatest moments in sports history - the Battle of the Sexes in 1973. This match is remembered for its effect on society and its contribution to the women’s movement. Founded the Women’s Tennis Association (1973), the Women’s Sports Foundation (1974), and Women’s Sports Magazine (1974). Co-founded World TeamTennis (1974), the groundbreaking co-ed professional tennis league and founded the World TeamTennis Recreational League, one of the most popular recreational tennis formats in the U.S. Ranked No. 5 on Sports Illustrated’s "Top 40 Athletes" list for significantly altering or elevating sports the last four decades (1994). Continues to be a leader in the fight for equality and recognition in the GLBT community, and has been honored by many of the leading GLBT organizations, including GLAAD, Lambda Legal Foundation and the San Francisco GLBT Historical Society. Honored on August 28, 2006, when the National Tennis Center, home of the U. S. Open, was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in honor of King’s contributions to tennis, sports and society both on and off the court. She continues to be involved with the USTA and is currently Chair of the Tennis in the Parks committee. Honored on October 17, 2006, when the National Sports Museum and the Women’s Sports Foundation announced that the Billie Jean King International Women’s Sports Center, the nation’s first permanent, comprehensive museum collection dedicated to women’s sports, will be housed at the Sports Museum of America when it opens in New York City in 2008. Currently serves on the boards of the Women`s Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2007 she launched GreenSlam, an environmental initiative and issued a challenge to the sports industry to become more proactive about going green. Biography Credit: www.billiejeanking.com/index.aspx |
||
Top News Stories |
||
Snapshot |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Photo Gallery |
||
|
|
||
Fans |
||
|
Billie King has no fans yet!
|
||
Trivia |
||
 I will tell you King`s First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much. In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar. At 62 you want to keep moving; that`s important. Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever. There is no life for girls in team sports past Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim. I would love to be a player today. I had the right personality for it. I knew after my first lesson what I wanted to do with my life. Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity. No one changes the world who isn`t obsessed. In 1973, a woman could not get a credit card without her husband or father or a male signing off on it. When they take surveys of women in business, of the Fortune 500, the successful women, 80% of them, say they were in sports as a young woman. A girl didn`t get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time. I love to promote our sport. I love grass-roots tennis. I love coaching. I love all parts of the sport. I love the business side. It`s fun to meet people from throughout the world who you don`t have to explain yourself to. I think it`s impossible to judge whether another person should come out. You just hope they will on their own time and their own terms. I like putting money back into what made my life, and tennis has been great to me. If your partner wants to be private, you have to respect that. Women get the attention when we get into the men`s arena, and that`s sad. I didn`t really care if I had a coach that much, me personally, because I was brought up to think for myself. I would just never out anybody. I think everyone has to find it in their own way and their own time. Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn`t allowed in a photo because I wasn`t wearing a tennis skirt, I knew that I wanted to change the sport. I always wanted to help make tennis a team sport. Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody. The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing. The old boy network is still very strong and very true. Just look at the stock exchange and how many men and women are there. It is still very much run by men. Men can have a huge turnover of sponsorship and still survive a lot better than the women. But the women`s ratings are better, at least at home in the United States than in the men`s tennis. In the seventies we had to make it acceptable for people to accept girls and women as athletes. We had to make it okay for them to be active. Those were much scarier times for females in sports. Martina and I went through a very bad five years. Everything`s very good between us now, but it was a long haul. Any therapist will tell you that when you`re ready, you will come out. To be outed means you weren`t ready. I was always in the tennis business-from 1968. I was in tournaments and also on World Team Tennis teams as well. Be bold. If you`re going to make an error, make a doozy, and don`t be afraid to hit the ball. It is very hard to be a female leader. While it is assumed that any man, no matter how tough, has a soft side... and female leader is assumed to be one-dimensional. Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life. Champions keep playing until they get it right. Martina`s gone with people who don`t want to be out, and it drives her crazy because she`d rather be open. Sports are a microcosm of society. I used to be told if I talked about my sexuality in any way that we wouldn`t have a tennis tour. When I was outed, it was like, That`s done. It`s just really important that we start celebrating our differences. Let`s start tolerating first, but then we need to celebrate our differences. I have a lot to say, and if I`m not No. 1, I can`t say it. I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion. Men still get a lot more opportunity. It is still a big part of the old boy network. They have more companies they can get money from. I like entrepreneurial people; I like people who take risks. I think younger players probably just think they are who they are-they don`t think about coming out. Unless you`re number one in the world, nobody cares, usually. Women`s sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women`s sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships. A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning. They`re not put on earth to be martyrs; they have to want to come out. It depends on your culture, where you work, where you live. Each person`s circumstances are unique. I wanted to use sports for social change. I always liked co-ed events best so we have two men and two women on each team. When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we`ve really and truly arrived. Parity at last! That is where the power, opportunity, and choice come from-when you have money. Money equals opportunity. There is no question. | ||
Top Contributors |
||
|
Top editors for this profile:
|
||
Related Links |
||
 Super Star Sites Silver Sites Star Sites Fan Sites
|
||
Related Profiles |
||
Profile
Married
Relationship
"Encounter"
Comments
Submit a Comment