Crowing of a King | Billie Jean King. Tennis, Equality, Coming Out and the Cost of Being Outed
Crowning of a King | BILLIE JEAN KING.
Tennis, Equality, Coming Out and the Cost of Being Outed.
Most people remember Billie Jean King for defeating Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes.” But her most difficult match may have begun years later, when a former lover’s lawsuit exposed a part of her life she was not ready to share with the world.
In 1981, Billie Jean was advised to deny the relationship. She refused. Her honesty came at an enormous cost. Sponsors abandoned her, the press descended on women’s tennis, and she remained on the court longer than planned, playing on injured knees to rebuild the income she had lost.
This episode of The Secret Is OUT looks beyond the famous match and the trophies to tell the more complicated story of Billie Jean King: the girl from the public courts of Long Beach, California; the champion who became the world’s top-ranked woman; the leader who helped the Original Nine launch a professional women’s tennis tour; and the activist who fought for equal prize money and helped establish the Women’s Tennis Association.
It is also the story of a woman whose private life unfolded under extraordinary pressure.
Billie Jean was still married to Larry King when the lawsuit made her relationship with Marilyn Barnett public. She had already fallen in love with fellow tennis champion Ilana Kloss, but fear, family expectations, professional consequences, and the need to protect others kept much of their life together hidden for years.
Stan also shares a personal childhood memory of seeing Billie Jean on television and hearing a family reaction that taught him something painful about how LGBTQ people were viewed. Decades later, after his own coming-out journey, he returns to her story with a new understanding.
Billie Jean King changed women’s tennis, challenged sexism in sports, fought for equal pay, raised money for HIV and AIDS causes, and became one of the most influential LGBTQ athletes in history. Yet she has spoken honestly about needing decades to fully accept herself, including seeking treatment for an eating disorder at age 51.
This is not simply a story about being outed. It is about what happens after the world knows, when you are still learning how to live freely inside your own life.
It is a story about equality, identity, courage, healing, and the years that still count.
Content note: This episode discusses homophobia, involuntary outing, eating disorders, family rejection, and financial consequences related to coming out.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
• Billie Jean King: Official Biography
• Billie Jean King’s Childhood Commitment to Equality
• The Original Nine and Their Legacy
• The Long Road to Equal Grand Slam Prize Money
• Billie Jean King and the Battle of the Sexes
• Billie Jean King’s 2021 Fresh Air Interview
• Billie Jean King on Coming Out, Hiding and Her Autobiography All In
• The 90 Days That Shook Women’s Tennis
• Billie Jean King on Wide Open with Ashlyn Harris
• Ilana Kloss: WTA Player Biography
• Billie Jean King on Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Billie Jean King’s CNN Interview with Dana Bash
• Billie Jean King on Elton John and “Philadelphia Freedom”
• Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss’s Private Wedding
MUSIC CREDITS
Music licensed through Uppbeat:
• “Ambition” by Monument Music
• “Bring It On” by Noise Cake
• “Falling Fast” by Aaron Paul Low
• “Jhoha” by Hele
• “New Growth” by Little Planet
• “Streets and Corners” by Simon Folwar
• “The Silent Clues” by Simon Folwar
• “Windows” by The Lakes
SOUND DESIGN
• “Tennis Ball Being Hit” from the Freesound Community
• “Tennis Volley and Crowd Cheer” from the Freesound Community
• “Stadium Crowd Cheering” by Gregor Quendel
HASHTAGS
#BillieJeanKing #BattleOfTheSexes #WomensTennis #TennisHistory #WTA #OriginalNine #WomenInSports #EqualPay #LGBTQHistory #LGBTQAthletes #ComingOut #QueerHistory #IlanaKloss #BobbyRiggs #LGBTQPodcast #PodcastRecommendation #TheSecretIsOUT #StanStadig