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Billie Jean, Bobby And The 'Battle of the Sexes 2'
Manage episode 377133348 series 3442172
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Fifty years ago this month, then-tennis superstar, Billie Jean King, agreed to play in a highly-lucrative exhibition match against former Wimbledon champ, Bobby Riggs, a man nearly twice her age. The spiel was called “Battle of the Sexes 2” and, although light-hearted, was also in deadly earnest.
It was a time when recently-turned women’s professionals were campaigning for greater equality in take-home winnings. Riggs didn’t believe women were worth what they claimed to be worth and took to the court against King to prove it. What took place one September night at Houston’s Astrodome remains one of the most fascinating, tawdry and culturally significant moments in the history of professional tennis.
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