Moments That Make Us: Billie Jean King on Blazing a Trail for Future Generations

To celebrate turning 60, Melinda French Gates sat down with iconic changemakers of all ages to talk about their biggest life transitions for a special series, “Moments That Make Us.” In this episode, she chats with tennis legend Billie Jean King about what it was like being outed in 1981, the power of living your truth, how sports help girls become leaders, and why she felt it was her job to change people’s hearts and minds in The Battle of the Sexes.

Check out all of the conversations in this series:
Megan Rapinoe:    • Moments That Make Us: The Radical Emp...  
Reese Witherspoon:    • Moments That Make Us: Reese Witherspo...  
Ava DuVernay:    • Moments That Make Us: Ava DuVernay’s ...  
Michelle Obama:    • Moments That Make Us: Michelle Obama ...  
Oprah Winfrey & Gayle King:    • Moments That Make Us: How Friendship ...  
Billie Jean King:    • Moments That Make Us: Billie Jean Kin...  
& don’t miss the Trailer! :    • Introducing "Moments That Make Us" wi...  

In this episode:
• 0:44 – The biggest shifts of Billie Jean King’s life
o See more: https://www.tennismajors.com/our-feat...
• 2:25 – Blazing a trail and being one of the first athletes to address sexuality
• 4:23 – Reflecting on the first-time playing tennis and the racial disparities in the sport
• 5:10 – Experiencing the gender pay gap after going pro in 1968, forming the ‘Original 9’ and establishing the first women’s professional tournament in 1970
o See more: https://www.history.com/news/billie-j...
o See more: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/22/te...
• 6:21 – Billie Jean King’s perspective on team and embracing her role as a leader
• 8:13 – How the Battle of the Sexes against Bobby Riggs in 1973 changed the hearts and minds of people and starting the Women’s Tennis Association
o See more: https://www.billiejeanking.com/battle...
o See more:   / 535204080382219  
o See more: https://www.wtatennis.com/
• 12:22 – How sports transforms girls and the effect of sports on women’s leadership
o See more: https://www.inc.com/rebecca-hinds/the....
• 13:16 – Playing tennis again after putting the racket down
• 16: 47 – The recent popularity of the WNBA, women’s sports as a great investment, and the business of sports
o See more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...
• 19:36 – Starting the Professional Women’s Hockey League
o See more: https://x.com/BillieJeanKing/status/1...


Produced by Feee Films
Directed by Felicia Manning
Photography c/o Pivotal Ventures, Robert Prange/Getty Images, Bettmann/Getty Images, and Focus on Sport via Getty.

Follow Melinda French Gates on:
Twitter/X: @melindagates
Facebook: @melindagates
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YouTube: @melindafrenchgates

Follow Billie Jean King on:
Twitter/X: @BillieJeanKing
Facebook: @BillieJeanKing
Instagram: @BillieJeanKing