NEW YORK (AP) – Billie Jean King’s victory in the “Battle of the Sexes” is a pivotal moment as women push for equality on the playground and beyond.
On the 50th anniversary of that match against Bobby Riggs – still the most watched in tennis history – King moved on to become the first female individual athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Three U.S. senators introduced a bill Wednesday that would honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist who was a driving force behind the making the women’s pro tourequal prize money for men and women, and the passage of Title IX.
“She is a role model for women and girls everywhere, but she is also a battle-tested fighter for women’s rights and equality,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, one of the leaders of the bill in the Senate with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
King celebrated the 50th anniversary this year on the WTA Tour and the US Open became the first tournament to award the award. equal prize money to male and female champions. On Sept. 20, 1973, he faced Riggs, the former No.
King’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory at Houston’s Astrodome was seen by an estimated 90 million people, where King realized the damage that can be done when spectators see someone who used to be 55 years old will beat one end. girl.
“This game is more than tennis. It’s about social change,” King wrote Tuesday on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
This is one of the reasons that Gillibrand believes that the gold medal, given by Congress for outstanding achievements and contributions to society, is the appropriate recognition for King. It has previously been awarded to athletes such as baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.
“I think it’s important for women and girls to know that the playing field hasn’t been level for a long time, but there are champions and advocates who have been fighting for them for generations to level the playing field, Gillibrand said.
He believes that the bill will receive enough support for the two-thirds required in the Senate, and the same majority in the House of Representatives, where the accompanying bill is led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and currently has more than 80 cosponsors, according to the US Tennis Association.
Gillibrand hopes to get it done before the end of the year.
“We’ve never had a woman president, we’ve had very few women governors, we only have 20% of women in Congress,” she said. “So we still have a long way to go, but champions like Billie Jean give us hope that through fight, through effort, through advocacy, we can reach these milestones of equality.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis