< Return to Video

This tennis icon paved the way for women in sports

  • 0:02 - 0:04
    Billy Jean King: Hi Everyone!
  • 0:04 - 0:07
    (Applause)
  • 0:07 - 0:08
    Thanks, Pat.
  • 0:08 - 0:09
    Thank you!
  • 0:12 - 0:14
    Getting me all wound up, now!
  • 0:14 - 0:15
    (Laughter)
  • 0:15 - 0:16
    Pat Mitchell: Good!
  • 0:17 - 0:21
    You know, when I was watching
    the video again of the match,
  • 0:21 - 0:25
    you must have felt like the fate
    of the world's women
  • 0:25 - 0:28
    was on every stroke
    you took in that.
  • 0:29 - 0:30
    Were you feeling that?
  • 0:31 - 0:32
    BJK: First of all, Bobby Riggs --
  • 0:32 - 0:36
    he was the former number one player,
    he wasn't just some hacker, by the way --
  • 0:36 - 0:39
    he was one of my heroes and I admired him,
  • 0:40 - 0:42
    and that's the reason
    I beat him, actually,
  • 0:42 - 0:43
    it' because I respected him.
  • 0:43 - 0:44
    (Laughter)
  • 0:44 - 0:47
    It's true, my Mom and Dad,
    especially my dad, always said:
  • 0:47 - 0:50
    "Respect your opponent
    and never underestimate them, ever."
  • 0:50 - 0:53
    and he was correct--
    he was absolutely correct.
  • 0:53 - 0:56
    But I knew it was about social change,
  • 0:57 - 1:00
    and I was really nervous about
    whenever we announced it,
  • 1:01 - 1:04
    and I felt like the whole world
    was on my shoulders,
  • 1:04 - 1:09
    and I thought, "If I lose it's going
    to put women back 50 years at least."
  • 1:09 - 1:13
    Title IX had just been passed
    the year before, June 23, 1972,
  • 1:14 - 1:16
    and women's professional tennis --
  • 1:17 - 1:20
    there were nine of us who signed
    a one dollar contract in 1970 --
  • 1:20 - 1:23
    now remember the match is in '73,
  • 1:23 - 1:26
    so we were only in our third year
    of having a tour
  • 1:26 - 1:30
    where we could actually play, have a place
    to compete, and make a living.
  • 1:30 - 1:33
    So there were nine of us that signed
    that one dollar contract,
  • 1:33 - 1:37
    and our dream was for any girl,
    born any place in the world --
  • 1:38 - 1:40
    if she was good enough --
  • 1:40 - 1:44
    there would be a place for her to compete
    and for us to make a living.
  • 1:44 - 1:48
    Because before 1968,
    we made 14 dollars a day,
  • 1:48 - 1:50
    and we were under
    the control of organizations,
  • 1:50 - 1:52
    so we really wanted
    to break away from that.
  • 1:52 - 1:55
    But we knew it wasn't really about
    our generation so much,
  • 1:55 - 1:57
    we knew it was about
    the future generations.
  • 1:57 - 2:00
    We do stand on the shoulders
    of the people that came before us,
  • 2:00 - 2:01
    there is no question,
  • 2:01 - 2:05
    but every generation
    has the chance to make it better.
  • 2:05 - 2:07
    That was really on my mind,
  • 2:07 - 2:10
    I really wanted to start matching the
    hearts and minds to Title IX.
  • 2:10 - 2:12
    Title IX, in case anybody doesn't know --
  • 2:12 - 2:15
    which a lot of people don't
    probably know, but --
  • 2:15 - 2:19
    any federal funds given given to
    a high school, college or university,
  • 2:19 - 2:21
    either public or private,
  • 2:21 - 2:25
    had to finally give equal monies
    to boys and girls.
  • 2:26 - 2:27
    And that changed everything.
  • 2:27 - 2:30
    (Applause)
  • 2:30 - 2:32
    So you can have a law,
  • 2:32 - 2:35
    but it's changing the hearts
    and minds to match up with it.
  • 2:35 - 2:38
    That's when it really rocks, totally.
  • 2:38 - 2:39
    So that was on my mind,
  • 2:39 - 2:42
    I wanted to start that change
    in the hearts and minds.
  • 2:42 - 2:45
    But two things came out of that match.
  • 2:45 - 2:48
    For women: self-confidence,
    empowerment,
  • 2:48 - 2:51
    they actually had enough nerve
    to ask for a raise.
  • 2:52 - 2:55
    Some women have waited 10,
    15 years to ask,
  • 2:56 - 2:58
    I said, "more importantly,
    did you get it?"
  • 2:58 - 2:59
    (Laughter)
  • 2:59 - 3:00
    And they did!
  • 3:00 - 3:02
    And for the men,
  • 3:03 - 3:05
    a lot of the men today don't realize it,
  • 3:05 - 3:10
    but if your in your 50's, 60's
    or whatever, late 40's,
  • 3:11 - 3:14
    you're the first generation of men
    of the Women's Movement --
  • 3:14 - 3:16
    whether you like it or not!
  • 3:16 - 3:19
    (Laughter)
  • 3:19 - 3:20
    (Applause)
  • 3:20 - 3:21
    And for the men --
  • 3:21 - 3:23
    what happened for the men,
    they'd come up to me --
  • 3:23 - 3:27
    and most of the time, the men are the
    ones who have tears in their eyes,
  • 3:27 - 3:28
    it's very interesting --
  • 3:28 - 3:31
    they go, "Billie, I was very young
    when I saw that match,
  • 3:32 - 3:34
    and now I have a daughter,
  • 3:35 - 3:38
    and I'm so happy I saw that
    as a young man.
  • 3:39 - 3:42
    And one of those young men,
    at 12 years old, was President Obama,
  • 3:43 - 3:46
    and he actually told me that
    when I met him, he said:
  • 3:46 - 3:49
    "You don't realize it,
    but I saw that match at 12,
  • 3:49 - 3:53
    and now I have two daughters and it has
    made a difference in how I raise them."
  • 3:54 - 3:58
    So both men and women got a lot
    out of it but, different things.
  • 3:58 - 4:00
    PM: And now there are generations --
  • 4:00 - 4:02
    at least one or two --
  • 4:02 - 4:04
    who have experienced the equality
  • 4:05 - 4:09
    that Title IX and other fights
    along the way made possible.
  • 4:09 - 4:13
    And for women, there are generations
    who have also experienced team work,
  • 4:14 - 4:18
    they got to play team sports
    in a way they hadn't before.
  • 4:18 - 4:23
    So you had a legacy already built
    in terms of being an athlete,
  • 4:23 - 4:29
    a legacy of the work you did to lobby
    for equal pay for women athletes,
  • 4:29 - 4:31
    and the Women's Sports Foundation.
  • 4:31 - 4:34
    What now are you looking to accomplish
  • 4:34 - 4:37
    with The Billie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative?
  • 4:38 - 4:41
    BJK: I think it goes back
    to an epiphany I had at 12.
  • 4:41 - 4:44
    At 11 I wanted to be the number one
    tennis player in the world,
  • 4:44 - 4:47
    and a friend had asked me to play
    and I said, "What's that?",
  • 4:47 - 4:51
    tennis was not in my family,
    basketball was, other sports.
  • 4:51 - 4:53
    Fast forward to 12 years old,
  • 4:53 - 4:54
    (Laughter)
  • 4:54 - 4:58
    and I'm finally starting to play in
    tournaments where you get a ranking --
  • 4:58 - 5:00
    you know, at the end of the year
    you get something --
  • 5:00 - 5:04
    so I was day-dreaming
    at the Los Angeles Tennis Club,
  • 5:04 - 5:06
    I started thinking about my sport
    and how tiny it was,
  • 5:07 - 5:11
    but also that everybody who played
    wore white shoes, white clothes,
  • 5:11 - 5:15
    played with white balls --
    everybody who played was white,
  • 5:15 - 5:20
    and I said to myself at 12 years old,
    "Where is everyone else?"
  • 5:22 - 5:25
    And that just kept sticking in my brain.
  • 5:26 - 5:28
    And that moment I promised myself
  • 5:28 - 5:30
    I'd fight for equal rights
    and opportunities
  • 5:30 - 5:33
    for boys and girls, men and women,
    the rest of my life,
  • 5:33 - 5:38
    and that tennis, if I was fortunate
    enough to become number one --
  • 5:38 - 5:40
    and I knew being a girl it would be
    harder to have influence,
  • 5:41 - 5:43
    already at that age --
  • 5:43 - 5:48
    that I had this platform
    and tennis is global,
  • 5:50 - 5:52
    and I thought, "You know what?
  • 5:52 - 5:55
    I've been given an opportunity
    that very few people have had."
  • 5:55 - 5:58
    Now, I didn't know if I was going
    to make it, this was only 12,
  • 5:58 - 5:59
    I sure wanted it --
  • 5:59 - 6:02
    but making it's a whole
    other discussion --
  • 6:02 - 6:06
    I just remember I promised myself
    and I really try to keep my word.
  • 6:06 - 6:10
    That's who I truly am,
    just fighting for people.
  • 6:11 - 6:14
    And unfortunately,
    women have had less,
  • 6:15 - 6:17
    and we are considered less,
  • 6:18 - 6:20
    and so my attentions were
    where they had to go,
  • 6:20 - 6:22
    I was just...you have to --
  • 6:22 - 6:24
    And also learn to stick up for yourself,
    hear your own voice --
  • 6:25 - 6:28
    you hear the same words keep
    coming out all the time,
  • 6:29 - 6:32
    and I got really lucky because
    I really had an education,
  • 6:32 - 6:34
    and I think if you can
    see it you can be it,
  • 6:35 - 6:37
    you know, if you can see it
    you can be it,
  • 6:37 - 6:40
    you look at Pat, you look at other
    leaders, you look at these speakers --
  • 6:40 - 6:41
    look at yourself --
  • 6:42 - 6:42
    because everyone --
  • 6:43 - 6:44
    everyone --
  • 6:44 - 6:46
    can do something extraordinary.
  • 6:47 - 6:48
    Every single person.
  • Not Synced
    PM: And your story, Billie,
    has inspired so many women everywhere.
  • Not Synced
    Now with the Billie King
    Leadership Initiative,
  • Not Synced
    you're taking on an even bigger cause.
  • Not Synced
    Because one thing we hear a lot about
    is women taking their voice,
  • Not Synced
    working to find their way into
    leadership positions,
  • Not Synced
    but what you're talking about
    is even bigger than that.
  • Not Synced
    It's inclusive leadership.
  • Not Synced
    And this is a generation that has grown up
    thinking more inclusively --
  • Not Synced
    BJK: Isn't it great?
    Look at the technology!
  • Not Synced
    It's amazing how it connects us all!
    It's about connection!
  • Not Synced
    It's simply amazing
    what's possible because of it.
  • Not Synced
    But the BIllie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative
  • Not Synced
    is really about the workforce mostly,
    and trying to change it
  • Not Synced
    so people can actually go to work
    and be their authentic selves.
  • Not Synced
    Because most of us have two jobs:
  • Not Synced
    One, to fit in --
  • Not Synced
    I'll give you a perfect example --
  • Not Synced
    an African American woman
    gets up an hour earlier to go to work,
  • Not Synced
    straightens her hair in the bathroom,
  • Not Synced
    goes to the bathroom probably
    four, five or six times a day
  • Not Synced
    to keep straightening her hair,
    to keep making sure she fits in.
  • Not Synced
    So she's working two jobs,
  • Not Synced
    she's got this other job,
    whatever that may be,
  • Not Synced
    but she's also trying to fit in.
  • Not Synced
    Or this poor man who kept his diploma,
    he went to University of Michigan,
  • Not Synced
    but he never would talk about his poverty
    as a youngster, ever --
  • Not Synced
    just would not mention it.
  • Not Synced
    So he made sure that they saw
    he was well educated.
  • Not Synced
    And then you see a gay guy
    who has an NFL--
  • Not Synced
    which means American Football
    for all of you out there,
  • Not Synced
    it's a big deal, it's very macho --
  • Not Synced
    and he talked about football all the time
  • Not Synced
    because he's gay
    and he didn't want anybody to know.
  • Not Synced
    So it just goes on and on.
  • Not Synced
    So my wish for everyone is to be able
    to be their authentic selves 24/7,
  • Not Synced
    that would be the ultimate.
  • Not Synced
    And we catch ourselves, I mean,
    I catch myself to this day,
  • Not Synced
    even being gay I catch myself.
  • Not Synced
    You know, like,
  • Not Synced
    [Gasp]
  • Not Synced
    a little uncomfortable,
    a little surge in my gut,
  • Not Synced
    feeling not totally comfortable
    in my own skin.
  • Not Synced
    So I think you have to ask yourself --
  • Not Synced
    I want people to be themselves,
    whatever that is, let it be.
  • Not Synced
    PM: And the first research that the
    Leadership Initiative did showed that,
  • Not Synced
    these examples the you just used,
  • Not Synced
    that many of us have the problem
    of being authentic.
  • Not Synced
    But what you've just looked at
    is this millennial generation,
  • Not Synced
    who've benefitted from all these
    equal opportunities --
  • Not Synced
    which may not be equal
    but exists everywhere --
  • Not Synced
    BJK: First of all I'm really lucky.
  • Not Synced
    Partnership with Teneo,
    a strategic company that's amazing,
  • Not Synced
    that's really the reason
    I'm able to do this.
  • Not Synced
    I've had two times in my life
  • Not Synced
    where I've actually had men
    really behind me with power,
  • Not Synced
    and that was with the old days with
    Philip Morris with Virginia Slims,
  • Not Synced
    and this is the second time
    in my entire life.
  • Not Synced
    And then Deloitte --
  • Not Synced
    the one thing I wanted was data, facts --
  • Not Synced
    so Deloitte sent out a survey,
  • Not Synced
    and we're around over 4,000 now,
    people who have answered,
  • Not Synced
    and we're continuing in the work place.
  • Not Synced
    And what they feel,
    what the millennials feel?
  • Not Synced
    Well, they feel a lot,
    but what they're so fantastic about is--
  • Not Synced
    you know, our generation was like,
    "Oh we're going to get representation,"
  • Not Synced
    so if you walk into a room you see
    everybody represented --
  • Not Synced
    that's not good enough anymore,
    which is so good!
  • Not Synced
    So the millennials are fantastic,
  • Not Synced
    they want connection, engagement,
  • Not Synced
    they just want you to tell us what
    you're feeling, what you're thinking,
  • Not Synced
    and get into the solution --
  • Not Synced
    they're problem solvers --
  • Not Synced
    and of course, you've got
    the information at your fingertips
  • Not Synced
    compared to when I was growing up.
  • Not Synced
    PM: What did the research show you
    about these millennials?
  • Not Synced
    Are they going to make a difference?
  • Not Synced
    Are they going to create a world where
    there is really an inclusive work force?
  • Not Synced
    BJK: Well, in 2025, 75% of the global
    workforce is going to be millennials.
  • Not Synced
    So I think they are going
    to help solve problems.
  • Not Synced
    I think they have
    the wherewithal to do it,
  • Not Synced
    I know they care a lot,
  • Not Synced
    they have big ideas
    and they can make big things happen.
  • Not Synced
    I want to stay in the now
    with the young people,
  • Not Synced
    I don't want to get behind.
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    PM: I don't think there's any chance!
  • Not Synced
    BJK: No, no...
  • Not Synced
    PM: But what we found out
    in the research about millennials
  • Not Synced
    is not really the experience that a lot
    of people have with millennials.
  • Not Synced
    BJK: No, well, if we want to talk --
  • Not Synced
    Okay, I've been doing
    my little mini survey --
  • Not Synced
    I've been talking to the Boomers,
    who are their bosses,
  • Not Synced
    and I go, "What do you think
    about the millennials?
  • Not Synced
    I'm pretty excited,
    I think it's good!"
  • Not Synced
    and they go,
    they get this face --
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    "Oh, you mean the 'Me Generation'?"
  • Not Synced
    And I say, "Do you really think so?
    I do think they care about the environment
  • Not Synced
    and all these things,"
    and they go,
  • Not Synced
    "Oh, Billie, they cannot focus."
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    They actually have proven that the average
    focus for an 18 year old is 37 seconds.
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    They can't focus.
  • Not Synced
    And they don't really care.
  • Not Synced
    I just heard a story the other night:
  • Not Synced
    she owns a gallery
    and she has these workers,
  • Not Synced
    she gets a text from one of the workers --
  • Not Synced
    she's like an intern,
    she's just starting --
  • Not Synced
    she goes, "Oh by the way I'm going to
    be late because I'm at the hairdresser's."
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    So she arrives,
    and this boss says,
  • Not Synced
    "What's going on?"
  • Not Synced
    and she says, "Oh, I was late,
    sorry, how's it going?"
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    She says, "Well, guess what?
    I'd like you leave, you're finished."
  • Not Synced
    She goes, "Okay".
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    No problem!
  • Not Synced
    But that's what scares the boomers --
  • Not Synced
    I'm just telling you --
  • Not Synced
    so I think it's good for us to share.
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    No, it is good for us to share
  • Not Synced
    because we're our authentic self
    and what we're really feeling
  • Not Synced
    and we've got to take it
    both ways, you know?
  • Not Synced
    But I have great faith because --
  • Not Synced
    if you've been in sports like I have --
  • Not Synced
    every generation gets better, it's a fact.
  • Not Synced
    With the Women's Sports Foundation
    being the advocates for Title IX still,
  • Not Synced
    because we're trying to keep protecting
    the law because it's always --
  • Not Synced
    it's in a tenuous position always --
  • Not Synced
    and we do a lot of research,
    that's very important to us.
  • Not Synced
    And I want to hear from people.
  • Not Synced
    But we really have to protect what
    Title IX stands for worldwide.
  • Not Synced
    And you heard President Carter
    talk about how Title IX is protected?
  • Not Synced
    And do you know that every single lawsuit
  • Not Synced
    that girls, at least in sports,
    have gone up against --
  • Not Synced
    whatever...institutions or, whatever --
  • Not Synced
    has won?
  • Not Synced
    Title IX is there to protect us.
  • Not Synced
    And it is amazing,
  • Not Synced
    but we we still have to get
    the hearts and minds --
  • Not Synced
    the hearts and minds
    to match the legislation is huge.
  • Not Synced
    PM: So what gets you up every morning?
  • Not Synced
    What keeps you sustaining your work,
  • Not Synced
    sustaining the fight
    for equality, extending it,
  • Not Synced
    always exploring new areas,
    trying to find new ways...?
  • Not Synced
    BJK: Well, I always drove my parents crazy
    because I was always the curious one.
  • Not Synced
    I'm highly motivated,
  • Not Synced
    my younger brother
    was a Major League Baseball Player,
  • Not Synced
    my poor parents did not care
    if we were any good,
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    and we just, we drove them crazy
    because we pushed,
  • Not Synced
    we pushed because
    we wanted to be the best.
  • Not Synced
    And, I really --
  • Not Synced
    I think it's because of what I'm hearing
    today at TED Talks,
  • Not Synced
    I think, to listen to
    these different women,
  • Not Synced
    to listen to these different people,
  • Not Synced
    to listen to President Carter --
  • Not Synced
    90 years old, by the way,
  • Not Synced
    and we was throwing these figures
    out that I would never --I'd have to go,
  • Not Synced
    "Excuse me, wait a minute, I need
    to get a list out of these figures." --
  • Not Synced
    he was rattling off, I mean,
    that's amazing, I'm sorry --
  • Not Synced
    (Laughter)
  • Not Synced
    (Applause)
  • Not Synced
    And then you're going to have
    President Mary Robinson,
  • Not Synced
    who's a former president --
  • Not Synced
    Thank you, Irish! 62%!
    LGBTQ! Yes!
  • Not Synced
    (Applause)
  • Not Synced
    Congress is voting in June
    on same-sex marriage,
  • Not Synced
    so these are things that for some
    people are very hard to hear.
  • Not Synced
    But always remember,
    every one of us is an individual,
  • Not Synced
    a human being
    with a beating heart,
  • Not Synced
    who cares and wants to live
    their authentic life.
  • Not Synced
    Okay?
  • Not Synced
    You don't have to agree with somebody,
    but everyone has the opportunity.
  • Not Synced
    I think we all have an obligation
  • Not Synced
    to continue to keep moving
    the needle forward, always.
  • Not Synced
    And these people have been so inspiring.
  • Not Synced
    Everyone matters.
  • Not Synced
    And every one of you is an influencer,
  • Not Synced
    you out there listening,
    out there in the world --
  • Not Synced
    plus the people here --
  • Not Synced
    every single person's an influencer.
  • Not Synced
    Never, ever forget that, okay?
  • Not Synced
    So don't ever give up on yourself.
  • Not Synced
    I'm ready.
  • Not Synced
    PM: Billie, you have been
    an inspiration for us.
  • Not Synced
    (Applause)
  • Not Synced
    BJK: Thanks, Pat.
  • Not Synced
    Thanks, TED!
  • Not Synced
    (Applause)
  • Not Synced
    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

Revisions Compare revisions