On Sept. 20, 1973, in their so-called "Battle of the Sexes" in the Houston Astrodome, tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. It was the first time a woman had played against a man in such a venue, a historic event with much media hype and an astounding amount of betting in Las Vegas — with the odds in Riggs's favor.
King will make history again as the first female athlete to be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal after the House passed bipartisan legislation in favor of granting her that honor on Sept. 17. The 80-year-old Lesbian tennis legend will receive the nation's highest civilian honor in recognition of her "lifetime of work fighting for Title IX, and women's and LGBTQ+ equality on and off the tennis court," per a House statement. The measure has already passed in the Senate and will now head to President Joe Biden's desk for a signature.
King also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 from President Barack Obama.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement: "King's lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace."
Co-sponsor Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said in a statement that the bill getting signed into law cements King's "legacy as both a champion of tennis and equality whose impact will continue to inspire and empower future generations."
King said on X following the Sept. 17 vote that she was "deeply humbled and honored."
King, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has 39 Grand Slam titles, including a record 20 titles at Wimbledon. She held the world #1 ranking in women's tennis for six years from, 1966 through 1975.
King also created the Women's Tennis Association, and as a result of her advocacy, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money to both sexes — something that women in other sports are still struggling to achieve.
Higher profile
The King-Riggs match was a huge moment in and for women's sports. What no one knew at the time — and now, 51 years later — was that it was also a huge moment in Lesbian history.
We don't think of sports as being a historical space, but it has long been an arena where the closet has been as essential as team uniforms. Sports defines the binary for men — there is no definition of masculinity that is more declarative than football, baseball, soccer, hockey, or basketball players. And to date, few men in sports are out. It remains a society largely closed to openly Gay and Bisexual men.
Which makes the role of Lesbians in women's sports all the more historic and surprising. While King's epic match with Riggs ranks as a great one for Lesbians in sports, in the 51 years since the 29-year-old tore up the court, humiliated Riggs, and proved that women were as good as men at a game they claimed as their own, Lesbians have not just come out in sports, they have come to rule in many ways. King was the first female professional sports figure to come out publicly, but she has not been the last.
There are now other names as synonymous with women's sports: Martina Navratilova is such a well-known figure in women's tennis that she is referred to largely by her first name only. Brittney Griner is an icon of women's basketball, the Olympics, and the WNBA. Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach are nationally known figures from women's soccer, and both have revolutionized their sport and (like King) drew attention to the pay inequities for women.
LPGA golf is such a Lesbian event that the Dinah Shore Golf Tournament, which began in Palm Springs in 1972, that there are jokes that the L in LPGA stands for Lesbian (not Ladies). While pro golfers Patty Sheehan, Muffin Spencer-Devlin, and Mel Reid may not be household names like Navratilova and King, their coming out was a defining moment in that sport.
Well before King was outed in 1981 by a palimony suit by Marilyn Barnett, a 32-year-old former hairdresser who said her seven-year relationship with King entitled her to share in the latter's earnings, sports icon Babe Didrikson Zaharias was known to be a Lesbian. The Olympian track and field star and pro golfer was in a longtime relationship with golfer Betty Dodd until the former's death from colon cancer at only 45 in 1956.
These Lesbian couplings in sports have become another aspect of LGBTQ+ history. There are numerous histories chronicling Lesbian partnerships in the arts, but there is a plethora of such in women's sports as well, like Rapinoe and her fiancée, WNBA star and Olympian Sue Bird. The two were even featured in Sports Illustrated, and Rapinoe made the cover of the swimsuit edition. Breanna Stewart, the Lesbian forward for the New York Liberty, is married to former WNBA player Marta Xargay. Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor, former WNBA teammates, married in 2017 and have two children together.
These power couples have only served to expand the perspective that women's sports is a safe space for Lesbians.
Backlash
That was not always true. The fear that sports would be "tainted" as Lesbian has always been a side issue. For example, King received a great deal of backlash over the palimony suit with Barnett, and it threw the Women's Tennis Association into a crisis. In 1981, the closet was still firmly entrenched, and while it may have been a well-known and not-so-well-kept secret that Lesbians were in every sport, it was still not "allowed" for them to be out.
Struggling against the claim that all women in sports were Lesbians was a constant fight. The controversy over feminism and Lesbians — as evidenced by the Lesbian purge in the National Organization for Women — was indicative of the fear associated with Lesbians "infiltrating" groups, possibly redefining them and "scaring" straight women away from feminism, as well as tainting the importance of their political messaging.
The significant number of out Lesbians in professional and amateur soccer, basketball, volleyball, golf, and tennis brought its own backlash. Coaches like Rene Portland had strict "no Lesbian" policies.
Forging the path for many was Navratilova, whose coming out in 1981 was a significant event, making her the figure who allowed other women to come out. By staying in her sport — in which she became a world champion — she literally changed the play. Her activism was defining in opening up not just tennis but other sports to out Lesbians (which has made her statements about keeping Trans women out of women's sports and relegating them to a separate venue all the more disappointing).
For years, Navratilova was a singular target for anti-Gay bias, with Australian tennis star Margaret Court charging her with tainting the sport and "turning it Lesbian." And there is no question that Griner was targeted and made a political prisoner by Vladimir Putin because of her international cachet.
Growing acceptance
The role of Lesbians in women's sports is significant and reaches down to the grassroots of team play in high schools and colleges. The openness of women like King and Navratilova allowed a crack in a closet door that made space for other women in both tennis and other sports.
But Navratilova's bravery was not without consequence. While her frequent combatant, Chris Evert, received myriad endorsements and was referred to as tennis's "sweetheart," Navratilova did not receive similar offers. The financial impact was huge — a marked difference from today's endorsement deals that Rapinoe has enjoyed, from Subway to Victoria's Secret lingerie. Griner was the first openly Gay athlete to sign with Nike — an extraordinary shift indicative of how accepted Lesbian sports figures have become.
Domination
Lesbians and gender-nonconforming women have long been drawn to sports, which may be why Lesbians came to dominate golf and tennis and now soccer and basketball.
Olivia Records spoke to this with Meg Christian's "Ode to a Gym Teacher" in 1976. The gym teacher — sometimes a closet Lesbian — was a figure who welcomed Lesbian players and gave them someone to look up to and emulate.
The work Lesbians have done for women's sports cannot be discounted and is itself historic. Lesbian basketball players have won a plethora of Olympic medals, as have Lesbian volleyball and soccer stars.
Moreover, Rapinoe led the battle for equal pay for women's soccer, filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in 2016 on behalf of the US Women's National Soccer Team. The US Soccer Federation settled the lawsuit for $24 million, and the agreement included a pledge to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. The lawsuit gained international attention, and fans chanted "Equal pay!" when the US won the Women's World Cup final in France in 2022.
This role Lesbian athletes have played in women's sports history, from King's win against Riggs to Rapinoe's class-action suit highlights what an impact they have had on the field — and on LGBTQ+ history.
Victoria A. Brownworth is an award-winning journalist with the Philadelphia Gay News.
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