FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When Billie Jean King took on Bobby Riggs in their infamous “battle of the sexes” tennis match, there was plenty to consider. The $100,000 prize. The TV audience, which was estimated to number 90 million. The chance to strike a major blow in the fight for equality between men and women in sports.
At Title IX event at Gillette Stadium, trailblazing women share experiences pushing for equality
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When Billie Jean King took on Bobby Riggs in their infamous "battle of the sexes" tennis match, there was plenty to consider. The $100,000 prize. The TV audience, which was estimated to number 90 million. The chance to strike a major blow in the fight for equality between men and women in sports.
By Kayla Burton
But she was also thinking about a significant gain that had already been won — and the importance of protecting that gain.
The King-Riggs faceoff “followed Title IX by only one year,” King said last week. “And this is on my mind throughout the match; I didn’t want Title IX to be weakened in any way, and I knew people were already trying to weaken it … I wanted to make sure Title IX stayed strong and really, really would start to kick in more and more as time went on, so there was a lot riding on this match.