Sport and Feminism

Adding to the clamor for change，the National Organization for Women fostered a feminist voice in 1966，and female physical educators began advocating for girls and women to have sports opportunities equal to those available to boys and men.Thus，the athletic rebellion spread to women's sport as well.In 1968，Billie Jean King，a top female tennis star，exposed the hypocrisy of the famousWimbledon tournament，which billed itself as an amateur affair.King boycotted the competition，refusing to play unless shewas accorded her true value in the clandestine paymentsmade to male players.Consequently，Wimbledon officials dropped the hypocrisy and declared thematches an open event，admitting professional players，and King went on to win the women's championship.

10-17　Battle of Sexes

Women made great gains in securing their own opportunities during the 1970s，and Billie Jean King led the way.In 1970，she and seven other female pros refused to play in a Los Angeles tennis tournament that offered the women only a fraction of the men's purse.Instead，they enrolled in the newly founded Virginia Slims Tour11，sponsored by a cigarette company that marketed itself to women，and in 1971 King earned$100，000 by playing tennis，becoming the first female athlete to reach that figure.She gained much greater fame and social significance，however，for her 1973 match against Bobby Riggs12，a former tennis champion，a self-promoter，and an acknowledged chauvinist，then 55 years old，who claimed he could still defeat any woman.He emphasized his point by easily beating Margaret Court，one of the top women，6-2，6-1，on Mother's Day in 1973.The loss seemingly checked the growth ofwomen's tennis and to some extent the feministmovement，until Billie Jean King accepted Riggs'challenge.Offered$100，000 to play and double that if she won，King showed up at the Houston Astrodome beforemore than 30，000 spectators，the largest crowd to ever witness a tennismatch.Satellite television delivered the contest to 36 countries throughout theworld.In a lavish，exaggerated spectacle promoted as“the Battle of the Sexes，”King destroyed Riggs to make an emphatic statement about the rightful place of women in sport.The win also established King as a leader in the feministmovement，and she used her television appearances as an outspoken advocate for the women's rightsmovement.