printable versionBillie Jean King, Title IX events scheduled for Saturday, April 28
Tennis legend Billie Jean King will be interviewed by LaDoris Cordell at 7:30 p.m. April 28 in Maples Pavilion.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King will discuss women in sports and gender equity in a conversation with LaDoris Cordell, vice provost for campus relations, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28. "Title IX at 35: A Conversation with Billie Jean King" is sponsored by the Aurora Forum and the Stanford Center on Ethics. The free public event will take place in Maples Pavilion.
King holds 39 Grand Slam titles, including 20 from Wimbledon. In 1972, she became the first woman and the first tennis player to be named "Sportswoman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated magazine.
That same year, Title IX was passed; the landmark legislation established gender equity in schools. The law states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." This Educational Amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 furthered progress toward the goal of ensuring that all Americans, regardless of gender, are given equal opportunity to pursue a good education, to compete in the athletic arena and to enter any profession for which they are qualified.
King has long fought for gender equity in sports. Her words and actions made Title IX a reality and often placed her at the center of debates over equality between the sexes, amateurism versus professionalism in sports, and gay and lesbian rights. In 1973, she lobbied for, and obtained, equal prize money for men and women at the U.S. Open. That same year she defeated a onetime Wimbledon champion, Bobby Riggs, in a much-publicized match, titled "The Battle of the Sexes," which attracted a worldwide television audience of 50 million viewers. "Tennis has always been reserved for the rich, the white, the males—and I've always been pledged to change all that," King said.
As part of King's pledge she founded the Women's Sports Foundation to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity, and co-founded World Team Tennis (WTT), an amateur and professional co-ed tennis league. In 1984, she became WTT commissioner, the first woman commissioner in professional sports history, and she remains active in WTT today.
In 1987, King established WTT Charities to promote health, fitness, education and social change. In 1996, she guided the U.S. Olympic Women's Tennis Team to a gold medal sweep. She now serves as a director on the boards of the Women's Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In August 2006, the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, home of the U.S. Open in New York, was renamed for King, in honor of her contributions to tennis, sports and society. It is the first major sports facility to be named for a woman.
Conference on Title IXOn April 28, the Stanford Center on Ethics also will convene an all-day national conference, "Title IX Today, Title IX Tomorrow," in the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center at 326 Galvez St. The event, which precedes the talk with Billie Jean King, will feature leading policymakers, administrators, scholars and public officials involved in implementation of Title IX. The conference is designed to encourage fresh insights and practices surrounding gender equity in college athletics and beyond. It will include discussion of how to assess gender equity in college athletics, how to increase opportunities for female students and coaches without diminishing them for men, and how to promote change in athletic contexts beyond the halls of higher education. For more information, go to http://ethics.stanford.edu/titleixconference. Registration is $125. STAP funds may be used to cover the cost of the conference.
