by Billie Jean King was again recognized for its irreplaceable impact on female sports.
Friday, the legend of tennis officially received the Congress gold medal, making it the first individual female athlete to receive the honor. The bill behind his appointment specifically recognizes “his courageous and revolutionary leadership in the progression of equal rights for women in athletics, education and society”.
This bill was presented for the first time on September 20, 2023, the 50th anniversary of the “Battle of the Sexes”, in which King defeated the former Bobby Riggs of the male 1 in the most watched tennis match of all time.
Before King, the only women to win the prize were the female members of the 1980 American Olympic team, who were prevented from participating in the games due to the boycott led by the Americans of the Soviet Union host.
The complete list of athletes to win the Congress Gold Medal is:
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Roberto Clemente (1973)
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1980 US Summer Olympic Team (1980)
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Joe Louis (1982)
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Jesse Owens (1988)
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Jackie Robinson (2003)
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Byron Nelson (2006)
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Arnold Palmer (2009)
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Jack Nicklaus (2014)
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Larry Doby (2018)
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Steve Gleason (2019)
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Greg Lemond (2020)
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Willie O’Ree (2022)
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Billie Jean King (2024)
King also received the presidential medal of freedom by Barack Obama in 2009. She was also the first female athlete to win this award. Before King, only five other athletes had won the Liberty Medal and the Congress Gold Medal: Clemente, Owens, Robinson, Palmer and Nicklaus.
Billie Jean King fought in equal salary and won
It is difficult to think of a single person who has made a bigger brand on female sports than the 80 -year -old king. Its heritage goes far beyond its excellence in the field, which includes 39 Grand Chelem titles (12 in single, 16 in double and 11 in mixed double).
The field of female sports would be unrecognizable today if it was not for the King Foundation of the Virginia Slims circuit, and later the WTA. Frustrated by the disparity of wages between men and women in tennis, King and eight other athletes have formed the escape tour and found financial success with their own sponsors and television partners. King’s victory in the “sex battle” was also a historic moment for female sports.
Today, all the main tennis tournaments award a price equal to men and women, an aberration of other sports.
King has also been widely recognized as a pioneer of the LGBTQ community, confirming his identity as a lesbian in 1981 and serving as a symbol for homosexual rights since.
