upworthy

Awards

Identity

Tennis icon Billie Jean King is making history again—and we’re all crying happy tears

She's receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Flickr

Billie Jean King, the icon

In the world of professional tennis, Billie Jean King is a superstar. Known for her tenacity on and off the court, she’s a 39-time Grand Slam champion who’s been smashing glass ceilings and challenging the status quo for over half a century.

And no, not the kind of challenging her colleague John McEnroe is known for.


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Billie Jean King’s legacy is greater than tennis. Beyond her world No. 1 ranking and whopping 129 singles titles, she’s a trailblazer who refused to stay silent in the face of rampant discrimination. For nearly 50 years, she’s fought relentlessly for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in a sport that was—and still is—widely considered to be a “boys club.” It’s fitting in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to tennis and social justice, that Billie Jean King will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, April 7th in the Sports Entertainment category, becoming the first woman to receive that honor.

Battle of the sexes

Let's talk numbers for a second: 39 Grand Slam titles. Six-time world #1 ranking. Twenty Wimbledon championships. But for Billie Jean King, these achievements are just the tip of the iceberg. When she began competing professionally in 1959, tennis was a very different sport, especially when it came to equal pay. And by the time King started winning tournaments, it dawned on her just how drastic that inequality was. When she won Rome’s Foro Italico tournament in 1970, the men’s winner, Ilie Nastase, took home $3,500. Billie Jean King, on the other hand? A measly $600. “Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top, too,” she later commented. In 1973, she threatened to boycott the US Open for unequal pay. That year, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to institute equal prize money. (For Wimbledon, that moment wouldn’t come until 2007—over three decades later—when Venus Williams penned a now-famous op-ed column.)


sports, tennis, black and white photo, Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs, press, interview, battle The infamous "Battle of the Sexes:Flickr

Still, there was work to be done. In 1973, she faced off against Bobby Riggs in the iconic “Battle of the Sexes,” taking on the 55-year-old former tennis pro who had a penchant for making sexist and misogynistic remarks about female athletes. Staged at the Houston Astrodome, the “Battle of the Sexes” was watched by over 90 million viewers worldwide—all of whom witnessed an absolute beatdown. She defeated Riggs in straight sets. Later, she commented, “I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match...It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self-esteem.” King would later continue to break boundaries when she became one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay in 1981—a move that could potentially destroy her brand sponsorships and the public’s positive opinion of her. Yet, she lived her truth and continues to be a champion for equal rights to this day.

A force to be reckoned with

The Walk of Fame star ceremony is set for April 7th. Radio personality Ellen K will emcee, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Magic Johnson as guest speakers. When King received the news that she would be honored with a star, she wrote on Facebook, "As a native of Southern California, it is a dream come true.”

Billie Jean King, Billie Jean, tennis, tennis legend, starThis star represents so much Wikimedia Commons

This star represents so much and goes beyond tennis or athletic achievement. It’s a true testament to King’s global impact: she founded the Women’s Tennis Association and Women’s Sports Foundation. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and has been inducted into many Halls of Fame to name. In 2018, she won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. She also received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2024. And now, her legacy will be further cemented—literally—forever on the Walk of Fame. Here’s to BJK, the athlete, activist, and icon.

billie jean king
Pop Culture

Why winning a bronze medal might actually be better than getting silver

The psychology of silver is harder to handle.

Photo credit: Marcus Cyron

Three young fencing medalists at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics

World championship competitions like the Olympic Games determine the best of the best in every sport. As athletes from around the globe gather to compete, we see the cream of the crop rise to the top, but ultimately only one person or team in each event can claim the coveted gold medal and No. 1 title.

Whether you win a gold, silver or bronze medal, making it onto the podium is an enormous accomplishment; to be among the top three in the world at anything is incredible. But one of the top three medals is considerably less desirable than the other two, and surprisingly, it's not the third place one.

Objectively speaking, silver is better than bronze, but from a psychological perspective, it's not. Studies that examined the facial expressions of Olympic medal winners found that athletes who win silver are less happy than those who win bronze. A study of Paralympic medal winners also found that silver medists appeared angrier and sadder than gold medal winners and angrier and more disgusted than bronze medalists.

Why does winning silver so often seem like a disappointment? There are a few theories these studies point to. One is that silver medalists tend toward more "counterfactual thinking"—engaging in thoughts like "I could have gotten gold if I'd only done this or that differently." Silver medalists tend to look up at what they didn't achieve and feel like they lost, while bronze medalists tend to look down and be thankful that they're up on the podium at all.

Another theory is that silver and bronze medal winners often have different expectations coming into the competition. Silver medal winners may expect to get the gold, or at least feel it's within their reach, so silver feels like they didn't perform as well as they'd hoped. Bronze medalists, on the other hand, may go in just hoping to do well enough to medal, so getting any medal at all is an achievement unlocked.

Case in point for silver medal disappointment: Team USA's men's 4 x 100 medley relay in swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The United States has won the gold medal in that event in every Olympics for the past 64 years, so expectations were extremely high. But China took the gold in a major upset, leaving the US with a silver medal win that felt more like a loss. The more favored you are to win, the harder it is to be happy coming in second place.

Silver medal disappointment can also come from how the medals are doled out in different sports. In a sport like gymnastics, scores are compared over the entire field of finalists and the top three scores win gold, silver and bronze. But in many sports, medals are determined by elimination rounds, which means individuals or teams compete in one-on-one matches until all that's left is a bronze medal match and a gold medal match. In those sports, you win your match to get the bronze but lose your match to get the silver. So winning a silver medal feels like a loss because in that final match-up, it literally is. For a bronze, though, it's literally a win.

However, the way silver and bronze medal winners interpret their medal also depends on how close their finishes were. A silver medal winner who came very close to winning gold tends to be less happy than one with a wider margin of loss. It may be ironic that the better a silver medalist does the worse they end up feeling about the outcome, but getting close to gold just intensifies that "I could have won" feeling. Essentially, not reaching your ultimate goal is harder swallow the closer you get to it.

Of course, some silver medalists are thrilled with their standing, and again, being a top three contender in any competition is a huge achievement. That's why mindset is so important. A winning mindset means giving it your all and doing your best; it doesn't have to include comparing yourself to others on the podium or being deflated by expectations of winning.

For instance, the expectations on Simone Biles are sky high, and for good reason, but she walked away from her last two individual events in Paris with a silver medal on floor and no medal at all on beam—yet she did so without feeling disappointed.

""I've accomplished way more than my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics, but in this sport,” Biles told reporters. “So I can’t be mad at my performances. A couple of years ago I didn’t think I’d be back here at an Olympic game. So competing and then walking away with four medals, I’m not mad about it. I’m pretty proud of myself and it’s always so exciting to compete.”

Perhaps winning gold so many times has inoculated Biles to disappointment. On the other hand, being accustomed to winning could easily lead to more of the counterfactual thinking and high expectations that plague silver medalists, but that doesn't seem to have happened to Biles. In fact, she joyfully celebrated her competitor Rebeca Andrade's gold medal win right on the podium from her silver medal spot.

Perhaps her ability to do that comes from having a specific mindset about what constitutes winning.

"A successful competition for me is always going out there and putting 100 percent into whatever I'm doing," Biles said in 2016. "It's not always winning. People, I think, mistake that it's just winning. Sometimes it could be, but for me, it's hitting the best sets I can, gaining confidence, and having a good time and having fun."

Wise words that could save some silver medalists from torturing themselves too much, as if second-best in the world somehow isn't good enough.

From Your Site Articles
mindset
Badge
Mastercard
Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition
Nature

Mastercard’s GRAMMY Awards campaign raises awareness for forest restoration with a unique giveaway from SZA debut Saturn performance

True

Music’s biggest night took place Sunday, February 4 with the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Now, fans have the opportunity to take home a piece of the famed event.

Longtime GRAMMY Awards partner Mastercard is using this year’s campaign to shine a light on the environment and the Priceless Planet Coalition (PPC), a forest restoration program with the goal of restoring 100 million trees. Music fans are 1.5 times more likely to take action to help the environment, making the GRAMMY Awards the perfect opportunity to raise awareness.

“Through our GRAMMY Awards campaign, we’ve created an opportunity for our brand, our partners and consumers to come together over shared values, to participate during a moment when we can celebrate our passion for music and our commitment to make meaningful investments to preserve the environment,” says Rustom Dastoor, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications, North America at Mastercard.

The campaign kicked off with an inspired self-guided multi-sensory tour at the GRAMMY House presented by Mastercard, where people journeyed through their passion of music and educational experience about Mastercard’s longstanding commitment to tree restoration. Then, this year’s most-nominated GRAMMY artist and a passionate voice for the environment, SZA, led the charge with the debut performance of her new song, Saturn.

Mastercard’s partners are also joining the mission by encouraging people all over the country to participate; Lyft and Sirius XM are both offering ways for consumers to get involved in the Priceless Planet Coalition. To learn more about how you can support these efforts, visit mastercard.com/forceofnature.

While fashion is always a highlight of any GRAMMY Awards event, SZA’s outfit worn during her performance of Saturn was designed to make a statement; made of tree seeds to help spread awareness. Fans can even comment ‘🌱’ and tag a friend on Mastercard’s designated post of SZA’s GRAMMY House performance for a chance to win a tree seed from the performance outfit*.

“SZA has a personal passion for sustainability – not just in forest restoration but in the clothes she wears and the platforms and partners she aligns herself with. It was important to us to partner with someone who is not only showing up big at the GRAMMY Awards – as the most GRAMMY-nominated artist this year – but also showing up big for the environment,” says Dastoor.

Due to factors like factory farming, logging, and urban growth, the Earth is losing trees at an alarming rate. According to Earth.org, approximately 10 million hectares of trees are lost each year.

Forests regulate the air we breathe and are highly effective in moderating greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, tropical forests provide up to 30% of the global action needed to stop climate change.

"Planting trees can help improve everything – from air quality to economic opportunity to mental health – and everybody deserves these benefits,” SZA said in a press release about her previous environmental activism.

Guided by Conservation International and World Resources Institute, the PPC employs science-based best practices for the selection, implementation, and long-term monitoring of their restoration efforts.

In addition to their goal to restore 100 million trees, the PPC also works to regrow forests in geographies that represent the greatest global need. This includes areas with the greatest potential for positive impacts on climate, with community and biodiversity goals being prioritized as they set out to restore forestland across the globe.

To learn more about the Priceless Planet Coalition or how you could get involved in forest restoration, visit mastercard.com/forceofnature.

* Additional Sweepstakes Details: No Purch. Nec. Void in Quebec and where prohibited. Mastercard cardholders before 2/4/24, who are U.S. & Canada res 18+ at time/date of entry. Ends 2/10/24. Winners/ARV: $30 USD each. Entry must include a “seedling” emoji and tag a friend. Canadian winners must answer a time-limited skill-testing math question. Odds of winning depend on the total number of entries received. Rules: priceless.com/forceofnature

Related Articles Around the Web
Pop Culture

Fans are applauding Niecy Nash for thanking herself during viral Emmy win speech

The iconic mic drop moment became a masterclass in self-esteem.

Television Academy/Youtube, @shanellegenai/X

“And you know who I wanna thank?” Nash asked. “I wanna thank me."

We all have come to expect awards show acceptance speeches to be filled with heartfelt thanks to others—industry peers, family, spouses, a higher power…and in Jennifer Coolidge’s case, “all the evil gays,” (but that’s another story).

But as Neicy Nash took to the stage to accept her award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the Emmys last night, she did something a little different.

She thanked herself.

She thanked herself.

Granted, Nash, who won the award for her performance as Glenda Cleveland in Netflix’s “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” did thank a higher power, along with showrunner Ryan Murphy, her Dahmer co-star Evan Peters, Netflix, those who voted for her and “her better half,” Jessica Betts.

But what people are really remembering is what she said next:

“And you know who I wanna thank?” Nash asked. “I wanna thank me. For believing in me, and doing what they said I could not do. And I wanna say to myself in front of all you beautiful people: go on, girl, with your bad self. You did that.”

As the audience erupted in applause, Nash took a moment to honor victims of police violence, saying, “I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed,” she said. “Like Glenda Cleveland. Like Sandra Bland. Like Breonna Taylor,” adding that her it’s her job as an artist “to speak truth to power.”

"And, baby, I'm going to do it 'til the day I die," Nash concluded, before exclaiming, "Momma, I won!" to her mother in the audience.

It wasn’t long before thousands on social media began hailing the viral moment as an “instant classic,” and praising Nash for, as one person on X put it, “giving a masterclass on how to make the most out of an #Emmys acceptance speech."

What’s more, the viral moment grew to be a masterclass in healthy self esteem.

Talking to reporters in a follow-up interview, Nash explained why she felt the need to credit herself, saying "Sometimes you have to encourage what? Yourself.”

"And that's why it's not called mama-esteem, them-esteem, us-esteem, it's called self esteem because don’t nobody got to believe it, but you,” she continued.

Ultimately, Nash hopes her iconic speech becomes a “delicious invitation” for people to believe in themselves.

And that right there is a beautiful takeaway for everyone. We might not all be striving for the life of an award-winning actor, but nearly all of us could be a bit better about hyping ourselves up. May we all have the audacity today to tell ourselves, “you did that.” Whatever it is.

From Your Site Articles
television
Trending Stories