Battle of the Sexes: When Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in match that defined an era
Immediately afterwards, Riggs said he underestimated King. “Every time I thought I was making a point in our exchanges, he saved it,” he said.
Later Riggs deliberate abandonment of match, external To pay off his gambling debt to the mafia.
Regardless of the circumstances, King’s victory remained etched in the public mind. Not a day goes by without someone telling him about the Battle of the Sexes.
“When I met President Obama for the first time in the Oval Office, he said, ‘I watched that game when I was 12. I have two daughters now, and it made a difference in the way I raised them,'” King said.
“The women who saw this empowered them and gave them self-confidence.
“Men come up to me and they’re the ones who are very emotional; sometimes they have tears in their eyes.”
King and Riggs, who died in October 1995, remained in contact thereafter, and King remained a sports hero to him.
“We stayed in touch and had a great discussion with him the night before he died,” King said.
“He finally realized it was about history. I would tell him it was about history, and he said no, it was about money.
“He told me he loved me and passed away the next day.”
King finished his career with 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
But he is also remembered for his fight for equality in sports, and beating Riggs was a crucial part of that.
