Last week, tennis great Margaret Court lashed out against gay people and gay marriage; Her homophobia has become a lasting theme in her retirement. Out lesbians Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King both returned fire this weekend. Navratilova told the Tennis Channel: Seems to me a lot of people have evolved as has the Bible, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Billie Jean King’
Moment #3: Tennis great Billie Jean King outed
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Tennis, 1981: On Aug. 12, 2009, Billie Jean King was at the White House with 15 other prominent Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was honored for her contributions to fights for gay and women’s rights. When she received [...]
Gareth Thomas, Billie Jean King meet with British prime minister on sports homophobia
Tennis legend Billie Jean King and rugby’s Gareth Thomas were among gay and lesbian athletes who met with British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss an initiative to end homophobia in sports. King, who happens to be in England for Wimbledon, talked about progress that has been made by gay and lesbian athletes since she [...]
Billie Jean King to receive Medal of Freedom
Openly gay tennis legend Billie Jean King will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony on Aug. 12. King and Harvey Milk are the two openly gay people receiving the award in August. Jack Kemp joins King as the only sports figures on the latest list. Some gay people consider it a lovely [...]
BJK asks Nadal and Federer to support gays
Out tennis legend Billie Jean King talked about her outing and today’s gays in tennis with Tennis.com. In addition to saying she knows a couple closeted gay men in tennis, King places the responsibility for opening the door to openly gay tennis players squarely on the shoulders of the best male players in the world, [...]