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This tennis icon paved the way for women in sports

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    Billy Jean King: Hi Everyone!
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    Thanks, Pat.
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    Thank you!
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    Getting me all wound up, now!
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    (Laughter)
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    Pat Mitchell: Good!
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    You know, when I was watching the video
    again of the match --
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    you must have felt like the fate
    of the world's women
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    was on every stroke
    you took in that.
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    Were you feeling that?
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    BJK: First of all, Bobby Riggs,
    he was a former number one player --
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    he wasn't just some hacker, by the way --
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    he was one of my heroes and I admired him,
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    and that's the reason
    I beat him, actually,
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    it' because I respected him.
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    (Laughter)
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    It's true!
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    My Mom and Dad, especially
    my Dad, always said,
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    "Respect your opponent
    and never underestimate them--ever,"
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    and he's correct--
    he was absolutely correct.
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    But I knew it was about social change,
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    and I was really nervous about
    whenever we announced it,
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    and I felt like the whole world
    was on my shoulders,
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    and I thought, "If I lose it's going
    to put women back 50 years at least."
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    Title IX had just been passed
    the year before, June 23, 1972,
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    and in women's professional tennis,
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    there were nine of us who signed
    a one dollar contract in 1970 --
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    now remember the match is in '73 --
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    so we were only in our third year
    of having a tour
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    where we could actually play, have a place
    to compete, and make a living.
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    So there were nine of us that signed
    that one dollar contract,
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    and our dream was for any girl,
    born any place in the world --
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    if she were good enough --
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    there would be a place for her to compete
    and for us to make a living.
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    Because before 1968, we made
    14 dollars a day,
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    and we were under the control
    of organizations,
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    so we really wanted to break
    away from that.
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    But we knew it wasn't about our generation
    so much, it was about future generations.
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    We do stand on the shoulders
    of the people that came before us --
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    there is no question --
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    but every generation
    has the chance to make it better.
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    That was really on my mind --
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    I really wanted to start matching the
    hearts and minds to Title IX --
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    Title IX, in case anybody doesn't know,
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    which a lot of people don't
    probably know --
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    any federal funds given to a high school,
    college or university,
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    either public or private,
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    had to finally give equal monies
    to boys and girls.
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    And that changed everything.
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    (Applause)
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    So you can have a law,
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    but it's changing the hearts
    and minds that match up with it.
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    That's when it really rocks, totally.
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    So that was on my mind --
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    "I want to start that change
    in the hearts and minds."
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    But two things came out of that match.
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    For women: self-confidence,
    empowerment --
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    they actually had enough nerve
    to ask for a raise,
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    some women have waited 10,
    15 years to ask,
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    and I said, "more importantly,
    did you get it?" and they did!
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    And for the men --
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    a lot of the men today don't realize it
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    but if your in your 50's, 60's
    or whatever, late 40's,
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    you're the first generation of men
    of the Women's Movement --
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    whether you like it or not!
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    (Laughter)
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    (Applause)
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    And for the men --
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    what happened for the men,
    they'd come up to me --
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    and the men are usually the ones
    who have tears in their eyes,
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    it's very interesting --
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    they go, "Billie, I was very young
    when I saw that match,
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    and now I have a daughter and I'm so happy
    I saw that as a young man."
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    And one of those young men,
    at 12 years old, was President Obama,
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    and he actually told me that
    when I met him, he said:
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    "You don't realize it,
    but I saw that match at 12,
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    and now I have two daughters and it has
    made a difference in how I raise them."
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    So both men and women got a lot
    out of it but, different things.
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    PM: And now there are generations --
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    at least one or two --
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    who have experienced the equality
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    that Title IX and other fights
    along the way made possible.
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    And for women, there are generations
    who have also experienced team work;
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    they got to play team sports
    in a way they hadn't before.
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    So you had a legacy already built
    in terms of being an athlete,
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    a legacy of the work you did to lobby
    for equal pay for women athletes,
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    and the Women's Sports Foundation,
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    what now are you looking to accomplish
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    with The Billie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative?
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    BJK: I think it goes back
    to an epiphany I had at 12;
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    at 11 I wanted to be the number one
    tennis player in the world,
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    and a friend had asked me to play
    and I said, "What's that?" --
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    tennis was not in my family,
    basketball was, other sports --
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    fast forward to 12 years old,
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    (Laughter)
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    and I'm finally starting to play
    in tournaments where you get a ranking --
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    you know, at the end of the year
    you get something --
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    so I was day-dreaming
    at the Los Angeles Tennis Club,
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    I started thinking about my sport
    and how tiny it was,
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    but also that everyone who played
    wore white shoes, white clothes,
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    played with white balls,
    everybody who played was white,
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    and I said to myself at 12 years old,
    "Where is everyone else?"
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    And that just kept sticking in my brain.
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    And that moment I promised myself I'd
    fight for equal rights and opportunities
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    for boys and girls, men and women,
    the rest of my life,
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    and that tennis, if I was fortunate
    enough to become number one --
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    and I knew being a girl it would be
    harder to have influence,
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    already at that age --
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    that I had this platform
    and tennis is global,
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    and I thought, "You know what?
    I've been given an opportunity
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    that very few people have had."
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    Now, I didn't know if I was going
    to make it, this was only 12,
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    but I sure wanted it --
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    making it is a whole other discussion --
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    I just remember I promised myself
    and I really try to keep my word.
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    That's who I truly am,
    just fighting for people.
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    And unfortunately,
    women have had less,
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    and we are considered less,
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    and so my attentions were
    where they had to go,
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    I was just...you had to --
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    And also learn to stick up for yourself,
    hear your own voice --
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    you hear the same words keep
    coming out all the time,
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    and I got really lucky because
    I really had an education,
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    and I think if you can see it
    you can be it,
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    you know, if you can see it
    you can be it,
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    you look at Pat, you look at other
    leaders, you look at these speakers --
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    look at yourself --
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    because everyone, everyone,
    can do something extraordinary,
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    every single person.
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    PM: And your story, Billie,
    has inspired so many women everywhere.
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    Now with the Billie King
    Leadership Initiative,
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    you're taking on an even bigger cause.
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    Because one thing we hear a lot about
    is women taking their voice,
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    working to find their way into
    leadership positions,
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    but what you're talking about
    is even bigger than that.
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    It's inclusive leadership.
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    And this is a generation that has grown up
    thinking more inclusively --
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    BJK: Isn't it great?
    Look at the technology!
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    It's amazing how it connects us all!
    It's about connection--
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    It's simply amazing
    what's possible because of it.
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    But the BIllie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative
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    is really about the workforce mostly,
    and trying to change it
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    so that people can go to work
    and actually be their authentic selves.
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    Because most of us have two jobs,
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    one: to fit in,
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    I'll give you a perfect example,
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    An African American woman
    gets up an hour earlier to go to work,
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    straightens her hair in the bathroom,
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    goes to the bathroom probably
    four, five, six times a day
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    to keep straightening her hair,
    to keep making sure she fits in.
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    making sure she fits in.
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    So she's working two jobs,
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    she's got this other job,
    whatever that may be,
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    but she's also trying to fit in.
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    Or this poor man who kept his diploma,
    he went to University of Michigan,
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    but he never would talk about his poverty
    as a youngster, ever --
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    just would not mention it.
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    So he made sure that they saw
    he was well educated.
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    And then you see a gay guy
    who has an NFL--
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    which means American Football
    for all of you out there,
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    it's a big deal, it's very macho --
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    and he talked about football all the time
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    because he's gay and he didn't
    want anybody to know.
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    So it just goes on an on.
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    My wish for everyone is to be able
    to be their authentic selves 24/7,
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    that would be the ultimate.
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    And we catch ourselves --
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    I mean I catch myself to this day --
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    even being gay I catch myself.
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    You know, like, [gasp],
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    a little uncomfortable,
    a little surge in my gut,
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    feeling not totally comfortable
    in my own skin.
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    So I think you have to ask yourself --
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    I want people to be themselves,
    whatever that is, let it be.
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    PM: And the first research that the
    Leadership Initiative did showed that --
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    these examples the you just used --
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    that many of us have that problem
    of being authentic.
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    But what you've just looked at
    is this millennial generation
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    has benefitted from all these
    equal opportunities --
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    which may or may not be equal
    but exists everywhere --
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    BJK: First of all I'm really lucky.
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    Partnership with Teneo,
    a strategic company that's amazing,
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    that's really the reason
    I'm able to do this.
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    I've had two times in my life
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    where I've actually had men
    really behind me with power,
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    and that was with the old days with
    Philip Morris' Virginia Slims,
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    and this is the second time
    in my entire life.
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    And then Deloitte --
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    the one thing I wanted was data...facts --
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    so Deloitte sent out a survey,
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    we're around over 4,000 now, people
    who have answered,
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    and we're continuing in the work place.
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    And what the millennials feel,
    well they feel a lot,
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    but what they're so fantastic about --
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    you know, our generation was like,
    "Oh we're going to get representation",
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    so if you walk into a room you see
    everybody represented --
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    that's not good enough anymore,
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    which is so good!
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    So the millennials are fantastic,
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    they want connection, engagement,
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    they just want you to tell us what
    you're feeling, what you're thinking,
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    and get into the solution --
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    they're problem solvers --
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    and of course, you've got
    the information at your fingertips
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    compared to when I was growing up.
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    PM: What did the research show you
    about these millennials?
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    Are they going to make a difference?
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    Are they going to create a world where
    there is really an inclusive work force?
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    BJK: Well, in 2025, 75% of the global
    workforce is going to be millennials.
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    So I think they are going
    to help solve problems;
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    I think they have
    the wherewithal to do it,
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    I know they care a lot,
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    they have big ideas
    and they can make big things happen.
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    I want to stay in the now
    with the young people,
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    I don't want to get behind.
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    (Laughter)
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    PM: I don't think there's any chance!
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    BJK: No, no...
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    PM: But what we found out
    in the research about millennials
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    is not really the experience that a lot
    of people have with millennials.
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    BJK: No, well, okay,
    I've been doing this little survey,
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    I've been talking to the Boomers,
    who are their bosses,
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    I go, "What do you think
    about the millennials?
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    I'm pretty excited,
    I think it's good!"
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    and they go --
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    they get this face --
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    (Laughter)
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    "Oh, you mean the 'Me Generation'?"
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    And I say, "Do you really think so?"
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    because I think they do care
    about the environment and all these things
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    and they go, "Oh, Billie,
    they cannot focus"
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    (Laughter)
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    They actually have proven that the average
    focus for an 18 year old is 37 seconds.
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    (Laughter)
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    They can't focus.
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    And they don't really care.
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    I just heard a story the other night:
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    she owns a gallery
    and she has these workers,
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    she gets a text from one of the workers --
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    she's like an intern,
    she's just starting --
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    she goes, "Oh by the way I'm going to
    be late because I'm at the hairdresser's."
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    (Laughter)
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    So she arrives,
    and this boss says,
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    "What's going on?"
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    And she says, "Oh, I was late, sorry,
    how's it going?"
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    (Laughter)
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    She says, "Well, guess what?
    I'd like you leave, you're finished."
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    She says, "Okay".
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    (Laughter)
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    No problem!
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    But that's what scares the boomers --
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    (Laughter)
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    I'm just telling you --
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    so I think it's good for us to share.
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    (Laughter)
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    No, it is good for us to share
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    because we're out authentic self
    and what we're really feeling
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    and we've got to take it
    both ways, you know?
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    But I have great faith because --
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    if you've been in sports like I have --
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    every generation gets better, it's a fact.
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    With the Women's Sports Foundation
    being the advocates for Title IX still,
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    because we're trying to keep protecting
    the law because it's a tenuous position --
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    always -
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    and we do a lot of research,
    that's very important to us.
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    And I want to hear from people.
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    But we really have to protect what
    Title IX stands for worldwide.
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    And you heard President Carter
    talk about how Title IX is protected?
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    And do you know that every single lawsuit
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    that girls, at least in sports,
    have gone up against institutions --
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    or whatever --
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    has won?
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    Title IX is there to protect us.
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    And it is amazing,
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    but we we still
    have to get the hearts and minds --
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    the hearts and minds
    to match the legislation is huge.
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    PM: So what gets you up every morning?
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    What keeps you sustaining your work,
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    sustaining the fight
    for equality, extending it,
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    always exploring new areas,
    trying to find new ways --?
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    BJK: Well, I always drove my parents crazy
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    because I was always the curious one.
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    I'm highly motivated,
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    my younger brother
    was a Major League Baseball Player,
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    my poor parents
    did not care if we were any good,
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    (Laughter)
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    and we just --
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    we pushed, we pushed,
    we wanted to be the best.
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    And, I really --
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    I think it's because of what I'm hearing
    today at TED Talks,
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    to listen to these different women,
    to listen to different people,
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    to listen to President Carter --
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    90 years old, by the way,
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    and we was throwing these figures
    out that I would never, I'd have to go,
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    "Excuse me, wait a minute, I have to get
    this list out of these figures,"
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    he was rattling off, I mean,
    it's amazing, I'm sorry --
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    (Laughter)
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    (Applause)
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    And you're going to have
    President Mary Robertson,
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    who's a former president --
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    Thank you, Irish! 62%!
    LGBTQ! Yes!
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    (Applause)
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    Congress is voting in June
    on same-sex marriage,
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    so these are things that are,
    for some people, very hard to hear.
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    But always remember,
    every one of us is an individual,
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    a human being
    with a beating heart,
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    who cares and wants to live
    their authentic life.
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    Okay?
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    You don't have to agree with somebody,
    but everyone has the opportunity.
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    I think we all have an obligation
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    to continue to keep moving
    the needle forward, always.
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    And these people have been so inspiring.
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    Everyone matters.
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    And Every one of you is an influencer,
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    you out there listening,
    out there in the world --
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    plus the people here --
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    every single person's an influencer.
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    Never, ever forget that, okay?
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    So don't ever give up on yourself.
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    I'm ready.
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    PM: Billie, you have been
    an inspiration for us.
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    (Applause)
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    BJK: Thanks, Pat.
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    Thanks, TED!
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    (Applause)
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    Thanks a lot!
Title:
This tennis icon paved the way for women in sports
Speaker:
Billie Jean King
Description:

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TEDTalks
Duration:
16:05

English subtitles

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