Now you can learn from champion Billie Jean King
The tennis great is serving you pearls of wisdom in a new Audible experience.
Tennis champion, out LGBTQ role model and equal rights advocate and spokesperson Billie Jean King has not been idle during isolation.
The former World Number 1 professional tennis player has recorded an Audible Original for your listening pleasure.
The Dollar Rebellion: How Billie Jean King and The Original 9 Became The Change They Wanted to See debuts Thursday, November 19 exclusively on Audible, as part of the Audible Plus catalog.
The audio documentary highlights sheds light on the the nine pioneers of women’s tennis who, in 1970, the cusp of the Women’s Liberation Movement, made a stand for equal rights and changed the face of sport — and of society — forever.
Thanks to these women and King, American women have equal pay and a sporting chance both in athletic pursuits and any kind of career. If you’ve seen the film Battle of the Sexes, in which King defeats the notoriously entitled and sexist Bobby Riggs, you’ll understand the impact King had on a generation of women and beyond.
The Dollar Rebellion is written and performed by King herself, and explores one of the most pivotal moments in recent sports history.
Listen as King recounts the experiences that led her and eight other women to risk their reputations and livelihoods; plus, what it felt like to be a pioneer in LGBTQIA+ rights, and how to overcome the gender and racial discrimination that persists to this day.
A lot has changed, thanks to women like King and the original nine. A lot of work still needs to be done.
Pearls from the Billie Jean King playbook:
Girls rule the world:
“The things I kept talking about which now is our mantra, there’s three things; If we do this, then any girl, any girl, born in this world if she’s good enough will have a place to compete. Number two, she’ll finally be appreciated for her accomplishments, not only her looks. And number three, will be able to make a living.”
Let’s call it: tennis was/and is a very white sport:
“At 13, I was sitting around at the Los Angeles Tennis Club tournament. I started daydreaming and I started thinking about my sport. Everyone wears white shoes, white socks, white clothes, they play with white balls and everybody who plays is white. I remember asking myself ‘where is everybody else? – this is ridiculous.’ So I made a promise that day that I would fight for equality the rest of my life. I couldn’t stand it. That was my epiphany at 13 and it changed my life forever.”
Break boundaries to promote equality:
“When I met President Obama, he said ‘I watched that match when I was twelve years old, I have two girls now, that I made a big difference.’ And the men that come up to me are much more reflective a lot of times they’re crying actually, they’ve got tears in their eyes. And they said it really helped them just to have a better appreciation of the world, but most importantly, they want their son and their daughter to have equal opportunity. That’s what it helped change and you need these stepping stones and focused events sometimes, like what’s going on with Black Lives Matter right now, it makes people start to understand which is so helpful and to have more empathy, compassion and most importantly, what are some more solutions for the future?”
Cultivate a positive mindset:
“Every single day when I would wake up, I’d say ‘I’m lucky to be alive, how can I help make this day a great day not only for me but for everyone around me? How can I make the world a better place, and fight for what’s right?’”
Listen to Billie Jean King in an excerpt here.
The Dollar Rebellion: How Billie Jean King and The Original 9 Became The Change They Wanted to See debuts Thursday, November 19 exclusively on Audible.
