King reiterates need for activism amongst athletes
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Billie Jean King is wired for sound. A cable television crew is tailing her at a charity event, taping a documentary, and it's clear the production won't lack for audio.
King talks as she walks down a concourse of the arena where she and rock icon Elton John are hosting a World Team Tennis benefit for the musician's AIDS foundation. She gestures. She questions. She gives homework.
Have you read this book? Look it up on the web and then we'll talk.
She's dressed comfortably in black warm-ups with one notable accessory: a rubber bracelet stamped with the words "Save Title IX.''
More than 30 years after the passage of that legislation, closely followed by King's attention-grabbing, stereotype-bending match with Bobby Riggs, followed by an explosion of women's sports on every level from schoolgirls to the pros, is she disheartened about having to mount a continued defense of the law?
"You can get discouraged, but that doesn't mean you stop,'' King said. "That means you should get more fire in your belly because of it. That's what it does to me.
"If you look at history, it took what, 70 years to get the vote for women? It takes two or three generations. It just does ... All you can do is try to make progress while you're alive. It's really frustrating. When you read history, it seems to go so fast, and when you're living it, it's so slow. And it just kills me.''
King turned 62 last week, but she shows no signs of retiring from public life or retreating from the causes she has worked for since her competitive career ended in 1984. One of the dearest to her heart is keeping the landmark gender equity legislation from being eroded. She sees that danger in the Department of Education's latest policy change, which allows schools to gauge female interest in sports participation through e-mail surveys -- a method she said is flawed.
"Girls are still being underserved,'' she said.
A few other things keep her up at night. She thinks too many prominent women athletes are disdainful toward the media, thus passing up the opportunity to widen and deepen public exposure to women's sports in general.
"Media is everything,'' King said. "It tells your story, it's a forum. I know athletes today who are popular think it's a pain in the ass. I know it's a privilege, because I know what it was before anyone cared. I never forget those days, ever, ever. The distribution of information is so great today that I think people have forgotten what a privilege it is to have it. The top athletes don't have a very deep understanding of our history.''
King doesn't like what she sees on the other side of the microphones and notepads either -- a relatively small number of female sports reporters. (A recent survey by Penn State University's Center for Sports Journalism showed that 11 percent of sportswriters at daily newspapers are women, compared to 38 percent newsroom-wide.)
Changing that balance is "one of the very important things to me before I die,'' she said. King wants to work toward that goal through the Women's Sports Foundation, which she created in 1974.
Athletes of both genders need to regard philanthropic work more seriously than a feel-good gesture they make "because the agent says that keeps their name out there,'' she said.
"They should choose [a charitable organization] that's already going on, if their ego can handle it. I started the Women's Sports Foundation, not the Billie Jean King Foundation. I wanted everyone to feel a part of it.''
King was clearly in her element at the annual WTT event with her longtime friend John, who wrote "Philadelphia Freedom'' in honor of her and the charter WTT franchise where she played and coached in the mid-1970s.
The two joke that they have such similar outlooks and senses of humor that they must have been separated at birth. They "captained'' opposing teams -- King, whose squad included Andy Roddick and Lisa Raymond, prevailed -- and the rock legend even got out and played a few games of mixed doubles.
The league's format, whether it's played at the professional or recreational level, serves a greater purpose, according to King, who never misses a chance to make a point.
"If you see a World Team Tennis match, you see my philosophy on life -- equal contribution by both genders,'' she said. "Little kids are seeing boys and girls cooperating and seeing girls can be the star or boys can be the star, or the supporting role, depending on the situation. That's a very important social message to send to young people without them realizing it.''
Another Mac attack
For the second time in the last few weeks, one of John McEnroe's milestone accomplishments is under siege.
If Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic completes his perfect Davis Cup season at this weekend's finals against the Slovak Republic in Bratislava, he could equal McEnroe's 12-0 showing in 1982. The ninth-ranked Ljubicic is 6-0 in singles matches this year and 3-0 in doubles, where he pairs with Mario Ancic. Ljubicic won all three of his matches in Croatia's first-round upset of the United States.
McEnroe's shutout season, the best since the tournament adopted its current format in 1981, included the longest Davis Cup match ever played prior to the introduction of the tiebreak: a 6-hour, 22-minute quarterfinal victory over Sweden's Mats Wilander.
Last week, Roger Federer ended the season one match short of tying McEnroe's 1984 record for season-long winning percentage on the men's tour. The newly un-retired Goran Ivanisevic was named to Croatia's roster, but may not play unless one of his teammates gets hurt.
Eye-tech
The Hawk-Eye electronic line-calling system will make its debut at an elite tournament next month.
Hopman Cup officials confirmed that the system, which is expected to be tested and/or implemented at select ATP tournaments and the U.S. Open next year, will be used at the week-long event that starts Dec. 30 in Perth, Australia.
Eight nations compete in the annual tournament, where teams of one man and one woman play singles and mixed doubles.
Freelance writer Bonnie DeSimone is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.
