By: Liz Elting | Forbes
September ended with a historic win for women’s sports. As announced in a post made by the U.S. Open’s Instagram account last week, Billie Jean King is now the first individual woman athlete to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. This is no small feat—the Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest non-military honors presented by the U.S. Congress to those who’ve made outstanding achievements for American society.
The Congressional Gold Medal has been around since the American Revolution and includes notable recipients such as former NFL player Stephen Gleason, activist Rosa Parks, former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela, the Wright brothers and even George Washington. After President Joe Biden signed the “Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act” legislation into law last Thursday, that list now includes King.
This isn’t the first time King has received a high governmental honor. In 2009, President Barack Obama bestowed King with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is given to those who make significant contributions to U.S. national security, world peace or culture. The fact that King won not one, but two governmental honors in her lifetime isn’t surprising. In fact, it’s beyond well deserved. As King’s Congressional Gold Medal Act cites, her historic defeat against Bobby Riggs, a former number one tennis player who sought to discredit women in sports, forever set the precedent that women can be just as—and even more—athletically skilled and competitive as men.
Of course, King went on to be the first tennis player and woman to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, but even more crucial is her role in progressing women’s rights both on and off the court. King founded the Women’s Tennis Association (an organization that is actively increasing funding for women’s sports), successfully lobbied for women tennis players to be paid equally to men, and formed an independent women’s professional tennis circuit. Moreover, other professional athletes, including former United States women’s national soccer team captain Julie Foudy have cited King’s advice as pivotal in their own fight for equal pay.
Though arguably her most profound accomplishment is her work to establish Title IX. One of the clauses in Title IX requires educational institutions to equally reward women and men athletes. Research from the International Journal of Physiology, Nutrition and Physical Education has shown that access to collegiate, and subsequently professional sports, has significantly increased because of the foundation of Title IX.
What’s more, King’s honor couldn’t have come at a more momentous time for the business of women’s sports. According to ESPN, during the Paris 2024 Olympics, women accounted for 26 gold medals—the most won by a women’s team in a single Olympics. The four most-watched days of the 2024 Games also coincided with the women’s gymnastics events raking in around 35.4 million viewers. And it’s not just the Olympics. From professional women’s soccer to basketball, Nielsen has found that viewership for women’s sports is progressively on the rise and according to PwC, 85% of experts forecast double-digit growth for women’s sports revenues over the next three to five years.
King’s fight for women in sports is far from over. She might be approaching 81 years in age this November, yet King continues to fight for women by investing in women’s sports teams and women-founded companies. King and her wife, Ilana Kloss, fund several sports teams and startups through their investment firm Billie Jean King (BJKVanEck Vectors Gaming ETF 0.0%) Enterprises. Additionally, King continues to collaborate with companies to further inclusivity in Corporate America. For instance, King’s campaign with E.L.F Beauty “serves facts” about the importance of having women and more diverse candidates on corporate boards.
There’s no way around it—King has made and keeps making history for women’s rights in ways that will continue reverberating for generations to come. Whether it’s putting forth a federal law to protect women athletes or winning Congressional awards, King has forever empowered millions of women both in and out of sports. This is just another page to add to the history books as King continues to change the world.