Speaking of Billie Jean King's outing, my brother pointed me to this opinion piece Chris Evert wrote in the July 1981 issue of World Tennis right after the news of Marilyn Barnett's palimony suit broke. I remember the issue well -- the arrival of Tennis, World Tennis and Inside Women's Tennis were always the highlight of my youth -- and how ironic looking back that an actual sexual deviant like Bill Cosby was on the cover! Although Evert's article sounds a little clunky at times, the end shows that even 30-some years ago, the Ice Maiden had it right on LGBT rights, something that seems particularly resonant given what we're dealing with in Kentucky:
And who are we to knock it if someone is gay? I think every man or woman has the right to choose how to live his or her own life. We're in no position to judge right and wrong in someone else's private life. ... I just hope that emotionally Billie Jean comes out all right. I hope this incident doesn't change her attitude toward life or love or anything. Her enthusiasm and her courage. I would hate to see her lose any of that because that would be an even bigger injustice than the invasion of her privacy.It should be noted that Tracy Austin expressed support and the time -- and more recently Evert gave a nice shout-out to Caitlyn Jenner on her transition.
(Click to enlarge)
1 comment:
Cheers to your brother; a forgotten memory of mine too.
Tennis, rather one specific tennis personality, played the most influential role model for me to take control of myself as a gay man -- Dr. Reee Richards. Her courage and strength, poise and confidence showed me what rue character meant. If Dr. Richards could face her challenges against an ugly ignorant world, I could face mine.
Those days, still in the light of the murder of Harvey Milk and the election of Ronald Reagan, were heady days to be publicly out. Billy Jean King, sure she ran a bit of dance around, but she did not hide. The outing of King took a huge toll on the gay rights movement: she lost every one of her endorsement agreements, $2 million/year. That was public; not a single closeted gay/lesbian celebrity would be coming out for years on end after that.
For those who wish to judge King, judge her in her moment, in those Reaganite years, not in the world 35 years later.
I for one still get a bit of kick every single time during the US Open the sportscasters say "from the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center."
Post a Comment