By: Lisette Perez, Montclair State University
In 1973, Billie Jean King, a #1 women’s American tennis player, made history when she competed in a tennis match against Bobby Riggs, who at the time was the number #1 men’s American tennis player. Bobby Riggs was infamous for making questionable comments about women’s tennis and even going as far as saying that a woman would never beat him, until of course Billie Jean King did. This match was titled, ‘Battle of The Sexes’ and 90 million viewers worldwide tuned in on September 20th, 1973 to watch this unprecedented event in sports history. Billie felt pressure to win this match because, in her words, she felt that “it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match. It would ruin the women’s tennis tour and affect women’s self-esteem.” The first words out of Bobby Riggs mouth after the match was “I underestimated you”. This match not only advocated for gender equality for women in sports but for this equality to be present in the pay as well, after this match she became the first woman athlete to win over $100,000 in prize money.
Becoming a Trailblazer and an Equity Icon
Besides being an amazing athlete, Billie Jean was also an advocate for women in all sports as well. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, she advocated to help pass Title IX, a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives funding from the federal government. Billie Jean went to Capitol Hill to testify in support of Title IX and its importance to girls and women to reach goals and accomplishments within their sports. Since the law was passed in 1972, the percentage of girls participating in high school sports rose to 1,057% and 614% for girls in college. This law of course also helped women in collegiate and professional positions, increasing the amount of opportunities available.
Other trailblazing accomplishments by Billie Jean include:
- She created the Women’s Sports Foundation and became its first president. The organization’s mission was to protect the sports side of Title IX in 1974. The organization funds research and provides financial assistance to athletes, educates and advocates for female athletes in the United States and around the world.
- First female athlete ever to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year in 1972
Influencing and Inspiring Tomorrow’s Champions
The Battle of the Sexes match influenced several books and films. Billie Jean herself who went on to write a book titled, Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes which was released in 2008. A couple of films depicting the events, one of the same name, Battle of the Sexes, released in 2017 starring Emma Stone as Billie Jean and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs, The Battle of the Sexes, released in 2013, and When Billie beat Bobby, which released in 2001.
“I Underestimated You”
Is what Bobby Riggs Said to Billie Jean King after she beat him in Battle of the Sexes. Women, especially in sports, are used to being underestimated. An article written for Write on Sports, ‘Women’s Basketball Now Vs Then’ written by student Senala D., gives an insight to how sports has overlooked women and left them on the side lines. Senala writes, “Only women were allowed to watch women’s basketball, though it quickly gained popularity, and men started to attend.” Women’s basketball through the early 1900’s changed drastically and involved a lot of discourse around womens clothes and women’s ability to view and even attend sporting events, let alone participate in them.
Knowing this makes Billie Jean King’s win in 1973 even more impactful because not only was she competing to not be underestimated but competing to be seen and even respected in her field but especially in the world. Issues such as misogyny and sexism affects women in sports, Sofia NA student who participated in the Write on Sports camp, wrote an article titled ‘Sexism in Women’s Baseball’, they go on to say, “If they were found doing the things they were not about to do, what happened? They were fined for the first offense, double the amount on the second offense, and then for the third, they were suspended for the game. They were also not paid fairly. For example, Jack Finger from the website All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) said that, “After watching shortstop Dorothy Schroeder of Sadorus, Illinois work out one day, Cubs Manager Charlie Grimm said, ‘if she was a boy, I’d give $50,00 for her.”
It’s clear that the sports world has always had an unfair outlook on women and their performance in sports, setting women back in sports tremendously. It is with the efforts from notable figures in sports such as Billie Jean King, who fought for equal pay in sports and advocated to pass Title IX, Serena Williams, who advocated for equality in women’s sports as well as affordable health care for Black mothers and their newborns, Allyson Felix, who spoke out about not being guaranteed maternity protections which caused Nike to later change their maternity policy for pregnant athletes, Kathrine Switzer, who overcame prohibition that prevented women from participating in marathons, and many, many more that women not only in sports but in any aspect of life and society are welcomed and celebrated for their contributions, successes and advocacy.
