I think younger players probably just think they are who they are-they don’t think about coming out. Unless you’re number one in the world, nobody cares, usually.
BILLIE JEAN KINGI think one of the concerns, anytime you’re in the human business, like sports, it’s a very high – risk endeavor.
More Billie Jean King Quotes
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It’s important to try to get people to think about women’s wellness.
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Hope it works out really well, and you hope that builds a stronger connection over time. You can’t be friends with everybody.
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In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar.
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Winning is very tangible, it’s very exciting, it’s very pleasing, but it’s momentary. If you can do things that last, that each generation can build upon, then that’s when you’re cooking.
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You do have to get players every year. You have to deal with calendar. You have to deal with all kinds of things in our sport, like every sport does.
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Being Number One isn’t everything to me, but for those few hours on the court it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place.
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I would just never out anybody. I think everyone has to find it in their own way and their own time.
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When people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say “Why?”, say “Why not?
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Champions adjust and pressure is a privilege.
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Ask Nureyev to stop dancing, ask Sinatra to stop singing, then you can ask me to stop playing.
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That’s why my place in the all-time rankings means so very little to me, because I know I won’t be anybody’s number one, and it’s that same old thing: if you’re not number one, then what does it really matter?
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You just know where to put the ball. You just feel it. It has been computed into your brain so many times it is there.
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People say, “Do you know how much a million dollars is?” I don’t have a clue. How many Big Macs will it buy me?
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Sports are a microcosm of society.
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Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.
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I have a lot to say, and if I’m not No. 1, I can’t say it.
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Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity.
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The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing.
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A girl didn’t get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.
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I like to see what future generations are thinking about.
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The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong are ‘accept responsibility.’
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Winning comes down to who can execute under pressure.
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When I was outed, it was like, That’s done.
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When you oppress people either by gender, by race, by sexual orientation, when you do that and the doors become ajar, they will fly open and they will come and they have.
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Every generation I think gets better usually [in tennis].
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Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn’t allowed in a photo because I wasn’t wearing a tennis skirt, I knew that I wanted to change the sport.
BILLIE JEAN KING