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Vice President Kamala Harris Invites Billie Jean King to Celebrate Major Women’s Sports Milestone

Published 03/28/2024, 12:14 AM EDT

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Billie Jean King has been a constant voice in uplifting women’s sports throughout her career. The former American player pioneered the formation of the WTA and has continued to speak out for women’s sports in her lifetime. She continues to celebrate women’s sports, this time with some of the most prominent women in the US.

Billie Jean King recently celebrated the 50th Anniversary of her foundation Women’s Sports Foundation with none other than the Vice President of the US, Kamala Harris as the guest of honor. She shared a post of the party on her Instagram page with the caption, “An honor to be invited to the United States’ @vp residence, along with the @womenssportsfoundation, for the first-ever celebration of women in sports.”

King has worked tirelessly to improve the status of women’s sports, and a celebration of her efforts was due at one point, which has come now. The Women’s Sports Foundation was launched by her in 1974 to educate women about the opportunities they have through sports and physical activity. Along with the VP of the United States, the party also hosted former tennis player Ilana Kloss, former USWNT star Ashlyn Harris, One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush, and many more.

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The Women’s Sports Foundation has helped improve the state of women’s sports in the US, and King was elated with the recent gathering of the stars. King began her journey of pushing women’s sports to the limelight during her prime, and recently, a journalist came forth to declare how a match of hers helped the status of women in sports even further.

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Journalist talks about the Battle of Sexes

In 1973, the globe watched a historic match between tennis giants Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. This chapter in tennis history, known as the “Battle of the Sexes,” drew a global audience of 90 million people and sparked conversations that continue to this day. According to sports commentator Joel Drucker, the incident was a watershed moment in the history of the last century as it promoted immense change.

It was preceded by the implementation of Title Nine in the US, which caused several women to make use of sports scholarships to improve their careers. King herself acknowledged the impact of the Battle of Sexes in 2023, on the 50th Anniversary of the bout.

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She addressed it by saying that it spurred social change, but a lot of work is still left. With King’s presence, the change left will be tackled as well. She has pioneered several changes and will continue to do so.

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Written by:

Ripunjay Gaba

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One take at a time

Ripunjay Gaba, a tennis enthusiast-turned-journalist at EssentiallySports, found his way from freelance sports journalism to the publishing house in ES. Here, his writing canvas encompasses the game specifics while finding poetic resonance in covering major sporting events. Ripunjay, a perpetual upgrader, uses avid reading to bring varied flavor to his Tennis reporting.
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Edited by:

Ananya Giri