Billie Jean King paved the way
Billie Jean King was 11 years old in 1954 when she was held out of a photo because she was wearing a tennis skirt.
At that point she knew she wanted to change things, but it was not apparent how influential she would be until 18 years later.
Title IX was adopted in 1972 and designed to prohibit sex discrimination in federally assisted education programs, like athletics.
Talk about perfect timing.
Tennis player Bobby Riggs challenged King to a match in 1973, with the intent to show how superior male athletes were to women athletes. Riggs said that even the much younger King, 29 at the time, was no competition for him because of his manhood.
In what was tabbed “The Battle of the Sexes,” the two faced off at the Houston Astrodome in 1973. In front of 30,472 fans and an estimated 40 million watching on TV, King defeated Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
“I remember watching it and cheering for her, but it was not the women that needed to be convinced that we could play,” said CMU softball coach Margo Jonker. “The general public and a lot of the male population needed to be reminded of it.”
Jonker said Title IX has had a huge impact on her career. She was playing softball at West Ottawa High School in Holland when the law was adopted, and playing at Grand Valley State when King defeated Riggs.
“My career has advanced tremendously from Title IX,” she said.
CMU field hockey coach Cristy Freese said King’s accomplishment was huge.
“She had a lot of pressure on her and for her to still do that was incredible,” Freese said. “A lot of women thought they could go do something that they might have thought otherwise before that.”
King was donned a savior by many, and received numerous accolades for her accomplishment. The Associated Press named her the Female Athlete of the year in 1967 and 1973. Sports Illustrated gave her the same award in 1972 and Time Magazine named her Woman of the Year in 1976.
Jonker said women’s sports coverage has not gotten the attention it deserves.
“Title IX was a law basically saying that male and females were to be given equal opportunity,” she said. “Do you see 50 percent coverage for women’s athletics across the country? It’s not even close and this is 30 years later.”
