Billie Jean Quotes & Sayings

Bobby Riggs was one of my heroes. I admired him. That's one of the reasons I beat him - because I respected him. — Billie Jean King

I didn't really care if I had a coach that much, me personally, because I was brought up to think for myself. — Billie Jean King

I don't see no more Billie Holidays, no more Marvin Gayes, no more Smokey Robinsons. I don't even see no more Nirvanas. — Wyclef Jean

I don't know video games.The last video game I played, apart from Dance Dance Revolution at Jeremy's house, which I was very good at - Scarlett [Johansson] and I will always have "Billie Jean" - was Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. I'm from the Dark Ages. — Joss Whedon

My whole life has been about equal rights and opportunities. For me it really goes back to the health of mind, body and soul. — Billie Jean King

You have got to want to be the best before you can even begin to reach for that goal, and you have got to be prepared to sacrifice a lot to get there. — Billie Jean King

When people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say "Why?", say "Why not? — Billie Jean King

Ladies, here's a hint. If you're up against a girl with big boobs, bring her to the net and make her hit backhand volleys. That's the hardest shot for the well-endowed. — Billie Jean King

I used to be told if I talked about my sexuality in any way that we wouldn't have a tennis tour. — Billie Jean King

A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning. — Billie Jean King

I knew after my first lesson what I wanted to do with my life. — Billie Jean King

Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn't allowed in a photo because I wasn't wearing a tennis skirt, I knew that I wanted to change the sport. — Billie Jean King

When I was outed, it was like, That's done. — Billie Jean King

In business, everything starts with integrity. Otherwise it falls apart, though it does take time to find out who has integrity. — Billie Jean King

The trouble with being number one in the world - in anything- is that it takes a certain mentality to attain that position, and that is something of a driving, perfectionist attitude, so that once you do achieve number one, you don't relax and enjoy it. — Billie Jean King

No one changes the world who isn't obsessed. — Billie Jean King

It's just really important that we start celebrating our differences. Let's start tolerating first, but then we need to celebrate our differences. — Billie Jean King

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion. — Billie Jean King

Seriously, if you complain about going to a Paris fashion show, you have officially lost all perspective on life as we know it. And I have little kids who are hard to be away from sometimes when school's going back and there are tons of things that you're missing. But you know, there's that great Billie Jean King expression: "Pressure is a privilege." We can all deal. — Cynthia Leive

These are things like Michael Jackson's Thriller, an album that was (1) produced by Quincy Jones, (2) features guitar playing by Eddie Van Halen, (3) includes at least three singles that ooze awesomeness, and (4) has the single best bass line from the entire 1980s (i.e., the opening of "Billie Jean"). It is a "guilty pleasure," presumably, because 45 million people liked it, and because Jackson is quite possibly a pedophile, a d because two dancers had a really unfair knife fight in the video for "Beat It." This is akin to considering Thomas Jefferson a "guilty pleasure" among presidents because he briefly owned a pet bear. I mean, he still wrote the fucking Declaration of Independence, you know? — Chuck Klosterman

People say, "Do you know how much a million dollars is?" I don't have a clue. How many Big Macs will it buy me? — Billie Jean King

'Billie Jean' was a negative dance song, and that was one of the best dance songs ever. — Theophilus London

Being Number One isn't everything to me, but for those few hours on the court it's way ahead of whatever's in second place. — Billie Jean King

The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong are 'accept responsibility.' — Billie Jean King

Both Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King used these phrases ("playing out of one's mind," or "over one's head") to describe their performances while winning tghe finals at Wimbledon in 1975 ... The player loses himself in the action, continually breaki g the false limits placed on is potential. Awareness becomes acutely heightened, while analysis, anxiety and self-conscious thought are compoletly forgotten. Enjoyment is at a peak - pure and unspoiled. — Timothy Gallwey

For me, losing a tennis match isn't failure, it's research. — Billie Jean King

We have, or have had women presidents or prime ministers in Liberia, Chile, Germany, Great Britain ... and yet the US of A still hasn't had a women president. It's just beyond my thinking. Look at Congress ... — Billie Jean King

Trust and respect is something you earn, not something that is given. — Billie Jean King

Don't go into debt and don't spend a lot. It's not how much money you make, it's how much you spend. — Billie Jean King

Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It's dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great. — Billie Jean King

I would just never out anybody. I think everyone has to find it in their own way and their own time. — Billie Jean King

Champions take responsibility. — Billie Jean King

Will I have to explain to my daughter that her brother is gonna make more money doing the exact same job because he's a man? If they both played sports since they were three years old, they both worked just as hard, but because he's a boy, they're gonna give him more money? Like, how am I gonna explain that to her? In tennis we've had great pioneers that paved the way - including Venus [Williams], who fought so hard for Wimbledon to pay women the same prize money they pay men, and Billie Jean King, who is one of the main reasons Title IX exists. — Serena Williams

Men can have a huge turnover of sponsorship and still survive a lot better than the women. But the women's ratings are better, at least at home in the United States than in the men's tennis. — Billie Jean King

Lindsay's right," Izzy says, collecting the leftovers. "Billie Jean is coming back for her. With a little help from his friends."

"So . . . so is this a horror movie now, or a teen comedy?" Brittney says.

"It's an afterschool special," Izzy says, Hoddering her head over to study Billie Jean. "Know what the take-home message is? Don't fuck with Izzy Stratford. — Stephen Graham Jones

We have a society in which men sexualize women, period. If you don't want male attention, it makes total sense you'd do everything to your dress and physicality to not be sexualized. But I see that changing dramatically. Now, [younger lesbians] look more like Paris Hilton than Billie Jean King. — Jackie Warner

Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever. — Billie Jean King

I try to perfect my strong points and make my weaknesses adequate. — Billie Jean King

I have a lot to say, and if I'm not No. 1, I can't say it. — Billie Jean King

Don't be afraid to hit the ball. — Billie Jean King

I never enjoyed making videos, even though the 'Total Eclipse' video was nominated for a Grammy along with the song. We lost out to the 'Billie Jean' video. — Bonnie Tyler

There is no life for girls in team sports past Little League. I got into tennis when I realized this, and because I thought golf would be too slow for me, and I was too scared to swim. — Billie Jean King

Because I was a tennis player, Billie Jean King was a hero of mine. — Sally Ride

Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life. — Billie Jean King

Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody. — Billie Jean King

At 62 you want to keep moving; that's important. — Billie Jean King

Men still get a lot more opportunity. It is still a big part of the old boy network. They have more companies they can get money from. — Billie Jean King

I wanted to use sports for social change. — Billie Jean King

In the seventies we had to make it acceptable for people to accept girls and women as athletes. We had to make it okay for them to be active. Those were much scarier times for females in sports. — Billie Jean King

Don't let anyone define you. You define yourself. — Billie Jean King

There's the house where that little red-haired girl lives ... Maybe she'll see me, and come rushing out to thank me for the Christmas card I sent her ... Maybe she'll even give me a hug ... Maybe Billie Jean King will call me tonight, and invite me out to dinner. — Charles M. Schulz

Pressure is a privilege - it only comes to those who earn it. — Billie Jean King

I always wanted to help make tennis a team sport. — Billie Jean King

When a child signs up for tennis, he or she is put on a team. I put them in a circle and then I make sure they name their own team. I would have them do their skill drills as a team and their fun drills together as a team, then they have to have a match at the end of every week. They can't just have what they call a lesson today every week. — Billie Jean King

Under a pulsating full moon, the gussied-up Billie Jean King National Tennis Center seems much softer and prettier at night, with the fountains bubbling and fans without tickets to the big stadium sitting in the plaza and watching a big screen. — George Vecsey

I like entrepreneurial people; I like people who take risks. — Billie Jean King

Some people do have softer boundaries. — Billie Jean King

When they take surveys of women in business, of the Fortune 500, the successful women, 80% of them, say they were in sports as a young woman. — Billie Jean King

I always respect right off the bat because we are human, but then over time you learn who the person truly is, just like they learn about you. Hope it works out really well, and you hope that builds a stronger connection over time. You can't be friends with everybody. — Billie Jean King

I've never cared that much for cementing my place in history. Sports is so transitory, so ephemeral. It just seems like so much nonsense comparing me to Helen Wills Moody or Suzanne Lenglen or anybody else from some other time. One lesson you learn from sports is that life goes on without you. — Billie Jean King

I hate being called a homosexual because I don't feel that way. It really upsets me ... Being gay can happen in any walk of life, in any world. If you have one gay experience, does that mean you're gay? If you have one heterosexual experience, does that mean you're straight? Life doesn't work quite so cut and dried. — Billie Jean King

I love to promote our sport. I love grass-roots tennis. I love coaching. I love all parts of the sport. I love the business side. — Billie Jean King

I have often been asked whether I am a women or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a women. — Billie Jean King

I feel that tennis is an art form that is capable of moving the players and the audience - at least a knowledgeable audience-in almost sensual ways. When I'm performing at my absolute best, I think that some of the euphoria I feel must be transmitted to the audience. — Billie Jean King

When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we've really and truly arrived. Parity at last! — Billie Jean King

I did a rendition of 'Billie Jean' which is on my Soundcloud. I put it on Twitter, and it got about 3000 hits that day. — Idris Elba

Female athletes are stereotyped by the general population
and usually as homosexuals. — Billie Jean King

The Women's Sports Foundation holds a unique position in developing opportunities for girls and women of all abilities to be active whether recreationally or competitively, and I'm excited to help lead the organization to impact even more lives. It is an honor to continue to build the legacy created by Billie Jean King and all of our leaders. — Angela Ruggiero

Any therapist will tell you that when you're ready, you will come out. To be outed means you weren't ready. — Billie Jean King

It's fun to meet people from throughout the world who you don't have to explain yourself to. — Billie Jean King

I was always in the tennis business-from 1968. I was in tournaments and also on World Team Tennis teams as well. — Billie Jean King

Martina's gone with people who don't want to be out, and it drives her crazy because she'd rather be open. — Billie Jean King

It's really impossible for athletes to grow up. On the one hand, you're still a child, still playing a game. But on the other hand, you're a superhuman hero that everyone dreams of being. No wonder we have such a hard time understanding who we are. — Billie Jean King

I always liked co-ed events best so we have two men and two women on each team. — Billie Jean King

I think it's impossible to judge whether another person should come out. You just hope they will on their own time and their own terms. — Billie Jean King

That is where the power, opportunity, and choice come from-when you have money. Money equals opportunity. There is no question. — Billie Jean King

Create your legacy, and pass the baton. — Billie Jean King

Stupid girls run upstairs, stupid girls run upstairs," she's saying to herself, turning to pull Ben with her up the aluminum steps, Billie Jean just feet behind them — Stephen Graham Jones

When you oppress people either by gender, by race, by sexual orientation, when you do that and the doors become ajar, they will fly open and they will come and they have. — Billie Jean King

Women's sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women's sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships. — Billie Jean King

I always listen, I ask children, I even ask adults in tennis, "What are your children playing?" And most of the time it's not tennis. It's pathetic. — Billie Jean King

Champions take responsibility. When the ball is coming over the net, you can be sure I want the ball. — Billie Jean King

A girl didn't get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time. — Billie Jean King

fun challenges. Losses inspire them to work harder to improve and pressure moments of a match are longed for rather than dreaded. As Billie Jean King said in the title of her recent book, "Pressure is a Privilege. — Greg Moran

Don't worry about what people say. — Billie Jean King

They're not put on earth to be martyrs; they have to want to come out. It depends on your culture, where you work, where you live. Each person's circumstances are unique. — Billie Jean King

Someone like Billie Jean King is completely my idol. — Serena Williams

I will tell you King's First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much. — Billie Jean King

Ask Nureyev to stop dancing, ask Sinatra to stop singing, then you can ask me to stop playing. — Billie Jean King

Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity. — Billie Jean King

Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozy, and don't be afraid to hit the ball. — Billie Jean King

It's about learning your craft. That's a wonderful thing
especially with today's consumerism and instant gratification. You can'tbuy that. It's about making decisions, corrections, choices. I don't think it's so much about becoming a tennis player. It's about becoming a person. — Billie Jean King

I learned how to dance every move of 'Billie Jean.' — Rain

I think that Billie (Jean King) and Zina (Garrison), they have a whole lot of experience. Even if I don't quite agree with something or have a different way of doing it this week, whatever they said, I did it right away and I found out that it was correct. I think that's helped a lot ... I'm having fun. I had a lot of fun out there. Sometimes I was ready to smile
but I knew I'd lose focus
because I was doing things that I'd done in practice and we talked about. I was ready to laugh and give someone a high-five, but it wasn't time for that. — Venus Williams

The main thing is not a matter of wanting to win; the main thing is being scared to lose. — Billie Jean King

It's important to try to get people to think about women's wellness. — Billie Jean King

Our love one's are never gone, they have just popped into another room. — Billie Jean King

In 1973, women got 59 cents on the dollar; now we are getting 74 cents on the dollar. In the area of finance and business, we are at 68 cents on the dollar. — Billie Jean King

I like putting money back into what made my life, and tennis has been great to me. — Billie Jean King

Sports are a microcosm of society. — Billie Jean King