{"id":7808,"date":"2019-08-19T10:12:48","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T17:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000001571"},"modified":"2019-08-19T12:02:10","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T19:02:10","slug":"billie-jean-kings-remarkable-journey-comes-full-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/billie-jean-kings-remarkable-journey-comes-full-circle","title":{"rendered":"Billie Jean King\u2019s remarkable journey comes full circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Put your finger on the rubber seam of a tennis ball. Move that finger in either direction and trace the curvilinear oval path of the rubber around the ball. No matter what direction you choose, your finger will travel around the entire ball and end up where it started\u2014a loop traced around a sphere.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a feeling that\u2019s familiar for Billie Jean King who just so happens to be one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of that felt-covered ball, with its curious seam\u2014a 39-time Grand Slam champion, 12 times in singles.<\/p>\n

King grew up in the Wrigley in Long Beach, in a blue-collar house on the wrong side of the tracks from the affluent Bixby Knolls and its Virginia Country Club, one of the places she learned to play tennis. The daughter of a firefighter, King has said she had a realization when she was a young girl washing dishes with her mother that she was destined for great things.<\/p>\n

From that kitchen in the Wrigley, King went on to become not only one of the most successful athletes in American history but one of its two most influential; her work for the fair and equal treatment of all people regularly, and rightfully, compared to the only other athlete with such a far-reaching and long-lasting effect: Jackie Robinson.<\/p>\n

\"\"
King’s efforts and influence off the tennis court often overshadowed her considerable accomplishments on it. Here, she holds aloft the trophy from her victory in the 1975 Wimbledon final, a title she won six times. Photo by Michael Cole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, at 75, she\u2019s coming home to receive one of the greatest honors Long Beach has ever bestowed on anyone: naming its new multi-million dollar central library the Billie Jean King Main Library.<\/p>\n

It is neither the first major honor King has received in her lifetime nor the most significant, at least on a global scale. She\u2019s the only Long Beach product to ever receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which Barack Obama gave her in 2009. As far as having buildings named after her, she’s done that too: the USTA National Tennis Center in New York, site of the U.S. Open\u2014at which she is a four-time singles champ\u2014is named the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.<\/p>\n

But it’s the library, perhaps because of its location just a few miles from her childhood home, that has become something truly special for King. The normally in-control tennis icon was nearly at a loss for words during a phone call last week to discuss the library, scheduled to be dedicated for King at its grand opening, September 21 at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think… I don\u2019t know, I\u2019m overwhelmed,\u201d said King. \u201cI wake up and I go to sleep and I go, \u2018God, I can\u2019t believe this is happening.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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King with brother Randy Moffitt, a Cal State Long Beach product who went on to pitch 12 years in the major leagues. Photo courtesy of Billie Jean King.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thinking about her journey from a girl in the Wrigley to the namesake of the city\u2019s newest showpiece, King was in a reflective mood about how far the LGBTQ+ community has come in the decades since she was outed in 1981.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would never have thought in the \u201860s and \u201870s that a gay person would get a tennis center or a library named after them, or a Medal of Freedom,\u201d she said. \u201cNever. When you read history, it\u2019s fast. But when you live it, it\u2019s slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

King said she streamed some of the city council meetings where the renaming was debated and was moved by the public comments and words of the council, which praised her as a trailblazer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important that the LGBTQ+ community is represented and I\u2019m happy that we\u2019re visible,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I was younger, it was so shame-based and so hidden, it was a terrible journey I went through because of the time. Gay people didn\u2019t even talk about it to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

King said that being a woman athlete, she\u2019d get questions constantly from the media about her sexuality, questions she knew the same male reporters would never ask male athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was terrible and then I was outed on top of it which was horrible because I didn\u2019t get to come out on my own terms,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s exhausting, you became very measured when you speak. [Former NBA player] Jason Collins gets a call from the president and a job with the NBA [when he came out]. When I did it, I lost all my sponsorships. It\u2019s changed dramatically\u2014people are celebrated now, and that\u2019s what we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the progress that\u2019s been made hasn\u2019t happened in a straight line, and King won\u2019t ever stop pushing forward, she\u2019s been a vocal supporter of Serena Williams\u2019 off-court advocacy and is a prominent supporter of the U.S. Women\u2019s National Soccer team\u2019s suit against its organizing body, demanding equal pay with the men\u2019s team. King also wants to make sure that the fight for equality is seen as something that benefits everyone.<\/p>\n

Asked about the value of Long Beach naming its libraries for strong women, with the Billie Jean King Main Library joining the Michelle Obama Library in North Long Beach, King bristled at the notion that it was only special for girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want to change about the world is that people talk about me inspiring girls, they don\u2019t talk about who\u2019s inspiring boys,\u201d she said. \u201cMichelle is an amazing example for good, for everyone<\/em>. Whether it\u2019s a boy or a girl, whatever their pronoun may be, I hope they see leaders. I\u2019m gay, but I\u2019m not just for gay people, I\u2019m for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

That word \u201ceveryone\u201d is the main thought in King\u2019s mind as she and partner Ilana Kloss prepare for King\u2019s homecoming in September\u2014they spend a significant amount of time in New York. Talks are already underway about what will be the best way for King to make a lasting impact on the library and the city, aside from being an inspiring example.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re definitely planning some things, we\u2019re meeting with the city this week about what\u2019s the best thing we can do to make a difference in the city of Long Beach,\u201d said King. \u201cNot just do things, we want to make a long-term difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to large-scale fundraising efforts in the works, King will be contributing some volumes for the shelves, as well. Now that she\u2019s part of the ownership team of the Dodgers, King is donating 6,500 copies of the Brad Meltzer \u201cI Am\u201d series of children\u2019s graphic novel biographies to SoCal libraries through the Dodgers Foundation; that donation will include copies of the book about her life story (there’s an “I Am Jackie Robinson” book as well). Late in 2020 or early 2021, she\u2019ll also have a life-spanning memoir to add to the shelves as well.<\/p>\n

For now, there\u2019s the story she\u2019s living: a girl from the Wrigley made good, coming back to Long Beach to see a major institution named in her honor. And, as she reflects on the journey that\u2019s brought her to this point, she\u2019s thinking about what she wants the future of the city and the library to be like.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes Long Beach so great is free access and free instruction,\u201d she said, pointing out all of the parks she played in growing up, scattered around the city. \u201cThe Main Library is going to be a gathering place, I hope, where people can connect. A place to learn and connect and have conversations. That\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new, central library, to be named the Billie Jean King Main Library, will be dedicated on Sept. 21<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":70456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[676],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2518],"class_list":["post-7808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-long-beach-public-library","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7808"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=7808"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}