Why equal rights is still such a racket
OPINION: It’s a miracle Billie Jean King is not currently locked up for mass murder. The crime scene would show a wooden tennis racket surrounded by men in sports coats and brown pants, their side burns splattered with blood.
In court the 1970s women’s tennis world No 1 has argued her case. It wasn’t a moment of insanity, she in fact had just cause. ‘‘Miss King, how do you plead?’’ She looks up defiantly, blue eyes flashing through her trademark glasses. ‘‘Not guilty, your honour. The men made me do it!’’
The international tennis season has just ended, which means the international tennis season will soon begin. Auckland’s ASB Classic has announced its line-up for January and tennis fans are wriggling into their whites, and wondering if it’s too soon to reach out in solidarity.
But as you groan in pain spare a thought for Billie Jean King, who suffered from far more pains in the butt.
Don’t worry, she hasn’t died. In fact, the 74-year-old is reaching a new audience in the movie Battle
of the Sexes. It’s just been released in the UK but because New Zealand is so progressive, Kiwis got to see it in September.
King’s fight for equality and pay parity for women could’ve come at the cost of her career. Actually, maybe that’s not so hard to believe considering NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee for what he believed in and is now a free agent. That’s the diplomatic way of saying, he’s been shut out for expressing his views.
But let’s get back to a 1973 sporting human rights disaster. The movie tells of King’s showdown match with 55-year-old grand slam winner Bobby Riggs, which remains one of the most watched sporting events in history with 90 million viewers.
As my hearing adjusted to the sexist setting, the male commentator declaring King was a very attractive lady was barely tolerable. ‘‘If she ever let her hair grow down to her shoulders and took her glasses off, you’d have somebody vying for a Hollywood screen kiss.’’ It was just one of many sexist remarks.
She’d been forced into corner when the US Lawn Tennis Association offered women only an eighth of the prizemoney men were getting. King was told that people paid to see the men and they had families they had to support.
So with no room left to even debate, she risked it all and started a breakaway tour for women. She wanted respect but ended up having to fight for it again by taking on Riggs; a self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig. He’d beaten world No 1 Margaret Court and was now challenging King.
One slip and the fight for equality would be smashed back over the fence to the past generation. Off court she was struggling with her sexuality. If it had been revealed she liked women her sponsors would’ve put on their trench coats and run out the back door. The weight of the world on her shoulders and few backed her chances.
She later said: ‘‘It was important to beat him for more than just the glory: it was so important for social change and for the way the public and the sport viewed female players.’’ King won 6-4 6-3 6-3. Male chauvinism was given a short sharp smack on the bottom and told to run along.
So here we are, 44 years later and men and women are paid the same prizemoney in the slams and misogyny and sexist comments are a thing of the p … oh wait, hang on! There was that time last year when John Mcenroe said if Serena Williams played on the men’s tour she’d be ‘‘like No 700 in the world’’.
Sadly, the battle lines will be drawn again before the Aussie Open. They are fainter than they were in 1973 but put money on the pay parity issue coming up again. Some are still annoyed women receive the same prizemoney in grand slams despite playing three sets to the men’s five.
All this does is perpetuate the myth women are not physically and mentally able. And yet women can carry babies for nine months before giving birth - which can take 48 hours or more (my friend can testify to that horror). That is a very long tennis match.
As an exasperated King pointed out before playing Riggs: ‘‘I’m not saying women are better, I never said that. We deserve respect.’’
Men, you don’t have to lose out for women to win.