House awards Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal in history-making vote

The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to award a Congressional Gold Medal to tennis legend and equal rights advocate Billie Jean King, bestowing the nation’s highest civilian honor on a female individual athlete for the first time.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) introduced the bill to recognize King last September on the 50th anniversary of the tennis Hall of Famer’s 1973 victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all time. The same year, King successfully lobbied for equal prize money for men and women at the U.S. Open and founded the Women’s Tennis Association.

King spent much of the previous decade pushing for the passage of Title IX, the federal civil rights law signed by President Nixon in 1972 that prevents sex discrimination in schools and education programs receiving government funding. More recently, King has advocated for the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports and has said she opposes state laws that categorically ban student-athletes from competing on teams that match their gender identity.

“From her leadership on equal rights and Title IX to her advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ community, Billie Jean’s life and career is an example of using one’s platform and talents for positive, lasting change,” Gillibrand said last year in a statement introducing the bill. King, also a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, attended this year’s State of the Union address as a guest of Gillibrand’s.

Awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, Congressional Gold Medal recipients include athletes Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer. Anna Bouligny, a hospital volunteer during the Spanish-American War, was the award’s first female recipient. She received it posthumously in 1938.

A House companion bill to award King the medal drew broad bipartisan support, amassing nearly 300 co-sponsors from either side of the aisle.

“Billie Jean’s impact has been transformative, and her legacy of advocacy stands unmatched,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who led the House bill with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.).

King wrote on social media following Tuesday’s House vote that she is “deeply humbled and honored.”

The measure now heads to President Biden, who is expected to sign it.