Billie Jean King, female athletes in honor of her Women’s Sports Foundation

NEW YORK –

Billie Jean King founded the Women’s Sports Foundation with a check for $5,000.

She turned that investment into $100 million and has spent half a century helping girls and women achieve their dreams through travel and training scholarships, local sports programs, and the mentorship of athletes and coaches.

King was scheduled to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding by honoring the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup winner. Mark Walter, co-owner of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Los Angeles Dodgers; and the Women’s National Basketball Association’s 2024 rookie class on Wednesday night in New York.

“What makes me happy is creating opportunities and dreams for others,” King said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “I look back and that’s what drives me.”

Nearly 100 female athletes will attend the awards dinner to celebrate the milestone and King, a tireless advocate for equal pay and increased investment in women’s sports.

This also includes the award winner and football award winner Julie Foudy. She graduated from Stanford and played for the 1999 U.S. soccer team that won the World Cup in front of a record crowd of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

“She has remained a friend and mentor and a catalyst for changing the trajectory of women’s soccer and so many sports,” said Foudy, former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation and current soccer host for Turner and TNT.

After the World Cup victory, Foudy and the team turned to King, Donna Lopiano and Donna de Verona for advice on improving pay and starting a professional soccer league.

“I’ll never forget (King) saying, ‘What are you doing about it?’ ” Foudy said of their collective influence to the U.S. Soccer Federation. “And as players, that was exactly the revelation we needed in that moment.”

Foudy and the 99ers ultimately witnessed the successful fight for justice and helped lay the foundation for the current U.S. women’s national team to receive the same pay and working conditions as the men’s team. A player lawsuit against the association resulted in a landmark $24 million settlement in 2022.

“Billie doesn’t just have a meeting. She answered, followed up and asked: ‘What do you need?’ ” said Foudy. “She was at that first (WUSA pro) game in Washington, D.C. (in 2001) and was a big proponent of the importance of a league and player pool to the longevity and growth of the women’s game.”

The current version is the NWSL, which was founded in 2013 and now includes 14 teams. Foudy is part of the Angel City FC ownership group. New owners Bob Iger and Willow Bay acquired a majority stake in the team in July in a deal valued at $250 million.

King recently teamed up with Mark and Kimba Walter to form the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which will begin its second season in late November. U.S. Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield has turned to King to help unite the fragmented professional hockey landscape into a viable league. King, part of the Dodgers’ ownership group, worked with Walter to create the new six-team league.

The WNBA rookie class, led by No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark, will receive the Next Gen Award for “showing up, showing up and courageously carrying the torch.” The popularity of Indiana’s Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese drove unprecedented WNBA attendance, more nationally televised games and record-breaking TV ratings this summer.

“Caitlin Clark is fantastic,” King said. “It reminds me of Chris Evert in 1971 when she changed everything at the US Open. Whenever a player can perform well, she helps everyone.”

The rookie class includes Cameron Brink (Stanford), Kamilla Cardoso (NCAA champion South Carolina), Rickea Jackson (Tennessee), Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State), Aaliyah Edwards (Connecticut), Reese (Louisiana State) and Alissa Pili (Utah ).

The WNBA lags behind in pay equity, with Clark receiving just $76,000 in her rookie season compared to the NBA’s No. 1 player, who is paid $12 million. WNBA players could see a raise in 2026 through a new 11-year media rights deal worth about $200 million per year ahead of the next collective bargaining agreement. The players’ union is interested in increasing the WNBA’s revenue share of 9.3%, while NBA players receive around 50% of revenue from TV deals, ticket sales, merchandise and licensing.

King said it could take longer to close the pay gap because women’s sports are “still in their infancy.”

“The NBA is 78 years old, the WNBA is 28 years old,” King said. “(Former NBA Commissioner) David Stern made a big difference. He was a marketing genius. We need to continue to do that for women’s sports.”

King and the “Original Nine” helped market the first women’s professional tennis circuit, and a week before Wimbledon in 1973, she and players founded the Women’s Tennis Association. She campaigned for Title IX, defeated Bobby Riggs and fought for equal prize money in tennis. During her career she won 39 Grand Slam titles.

The next milestone for the 80-year-old King will be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. It is one of the United States’ highest civilian awards for individuals whose achievements have had a lasting impact on their field.

“Nobody at the Women’s Sports Foundation knew how long it would take,” she said. “I see the 50th anniversary as a continuation to create more opportunities. You can’t let up.”