The likes of Lyn St. James, the first female winner of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award (1992), and Lin Dunn, head coach of the WNBA champion Indiana Fever (2012), were in the house, but on Monday, Dec. 10, Billie Jean King spoke to a gathering—predominantly populated with women but peppered with men—about being inspired and, in turn, inspiring others at the most local and foundational levels. "Seventy percent of poverty is with women," King said somberly, citing a favorite book, Muhammad Yunus's Banker to the Poor.
In a one-hour address at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in downtown Indianapolis, Billie Jean King spoke (and then spoke some more) about her robust career in tennis, business, management, and even more roles and realms. This is a woman with a layered, complicated, and yet simple life and message. One of her main points to the group she spoke to, made up mainly of members and friends of the Women's Fund of Central Indiana, was this: "You are all influencers."
The event, titled The Power of Women’s Philanthropy, was a fundraiser hosted by the organization that seeks to further programs to empower women and girls to be safe, successful, and all that they can be. Obviously these matters are in King's wheelhouse, as it were, and she wasted no time in getting down to business after a lively introduction from Dunn. Here, a smattering of the most interesting and perhaps new-to-you pieces from King's words to the assembly:
On her family's humble beginnings: "My brother and I are public park kids. We didn't have a lot of income. ... [Public parks] are in disarray, comparatively, today, and it's bothersome."
About going to play tennis at her friend's country club for the first time: "My mother had to sell me on white shorts. I thought I was going to do something wrong. Eeeeee!" (shuffles stiffly across the stage) "And it's true, as Coach Dunn said, that my first racquet cost $8.20."
On one of the benchmark items of her life's work: "Title IX is 37 words, and one of the most important pieces of legislation of the 20th century."
Echoing what so many have said, and rightly so: "I love history. Love it. It's true that we always stand on the shoulders of the people who came before us."
On the WTA then, in 1973, and now: "I really wanted us to play together, as a joint tour. The guys didn't want that, which I found so disappointing. But the women's tour is not bad: We play for 100 million people in 66 countries."
About that infamous exhibition match: "I've always tried to work for both genders. ... I wasn't playing for just women when I played Bobby Riggs in 1973."
Continuing on the topic of the Battle of the Sexes: "Do you know why that was so popular? Because I was in the men's arena. Ninety percent of the media is run by men. Babe Didrikson in the 1940s played the U.S. Open. That jump-started her career. Annika Sorenstam, when she played in a PGA event, she'd never have gotten that attention another way. We were in the men's arena. So then it mattered to them."
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A video montage of Billie Jean's greatest hits, both on and off the court, preceded her appearance on stage. In that presentation, the likes of John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, Venus Williams, Diane Sawyer, Barack Obama, Frank Deford, Serena Williams, and Bill Clinton praised her contributions to not just sports but to society itself. Far less famous people were in this audience, but the crowd of about 400 was just as touched.
—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)