On May 1, 1981, Billie Jean Kg publicly me out as gay
Contents:
- MAY 1, 1981: THE DAY BILLIE JEAN KG PUBLICLY ME OUT AS GAY
- 5 ACTIVE TENNIS PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY OR BISEXUAL, FT. DARIA KASATKA & SAMANTHA STOSUR
MAY 1, 1981: THE DAY BILLIE JEAN KG PUBLICLY ME OUT AS GAY
* first gay woman tennis player *
The number of top tennis people who have chosen to intify as what we now ll LGBTQ+ may be ltle more than a dozen but they clu Marta Navratilova and Gottied Von Cramm, two of the most thrillg champns to have ever played the game; Teddy Tlg, the gay signer who changed the look of tennis; Eleanor ‘Teach’ Tennant, the Californian ach who opened up the game to talented boys and girls om poorer backgrounds; and Renee Richards, who 1977 beme the first transgenr profsnal sport. The buildg, known as the Dansk Tennis Club, is a tribute to Leif Rovsg who missned, signed, and rated after he was banned om tennis 1917 for ‘prumed homosexualy’. Unknown outsi Denmark, Rovsg has recent years been redisvered as a gay hero there.
5 ACTIVE TENNIS PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY OR BISEXUAL, FT. DARIA KASATKA & SAMANTHA STOSUR
For the rt of his life, Rovsg mpaigned to w acceptance of homosexualy sport, wrg books and pamphlets and givg talks and lectur Denmark and abroad.
His style and manner, on urt and off, were impossible to separate out om his homosexualy which was clear to everyone around him although he never admted until he had long stopped playg. There is no evince that Harry Gem, one of the first people ever to play lawn tennis, was gay. On May 1, 1981, Billie Jean Kg, driven by circumstanc, beme the first proment profsnal female athlete to publicly e out about her homosexualy.
Bart’s lawyers thought this prciple uld also apply a homosexual relatnship and sought half of Billie Jean Kg’s earngs throughout the seven-year perd.