“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.”
Those were the words famously spoken by tennis legend Billie Jean King in 1970 as she led a crusade calling for female players to earn equal prize money. Throughout her career and in the decades since that proclamation, King has championed equality and social justice and her efforts have created opportunities for both women and the LGBTQ community—and at age 76, she’s still charging on.
That’s why King kicks off The Unrelenting, Sports Illustrated’s list celebrating the women in sports who are powerful, persistent and purposeful in their pursuits—for athletic greatness, gender equality, social justice and more.