‘I Was Outed in 81 for Being Gay’ – Billie Jean King Tells Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios How the Times Have Changed

It was the year 1981. Billie Jean King had already carved a niche for herself through her illustrious tennis career. The American player had attained legendary status as a result of her on-court exploits. On the 1st of May that year, Billie became the first renowned female athlete to publicly come out about her homosexuality.

However, what followed was a horrible time for the tennis legend. She spent sleepless nights in the days following her public announcement. Additionally, she lost her endorsement deals. Nonetheless, she received the backing of the American press and her fellow players for showing bravery and coming out. Recently, she talked about this incident during a conversation with Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios.

Billie Jean King recounts her ‘horror’ time

The 78-year-old sat down with Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka to discuss wide-ranging topics. During their conversation, King opened up about how times have changed while referring to her incident in 1981. She said, “Everyone loves you guys, they listen to you guys and I think it’s great when you talk and talk about your feelings, kids need that. When I was outed in 81 for being gay, I lost everything in 24 hours.”

READ MORE: ‘Your Image to Everybody Is Different From My Image’ – Naomi Osaka Engages in an Intense Conversation With Billie Jean King on How Media Treats Her

Further, she went on to add, “You guys can talk about these things and you’re celebrated, okay. So you have to decide if you’re gonna let these people decide what you’re gonna do with your life because you talked about mental health, because you guys have talked about your feelings.”

Nick Kyrgios advances at the Wimbledon Championships 2022

The Australian tennis star moved into the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament after knocking out the fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas. It was a high-voltage match between the two stars. Kyrgios served extremely well throughout the match and gave Tsitsipas hardly any breathing space.

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Kyrgios will be determined to continue his good form at the tournament. He next faces United States’ Brandon Nakashima. Can Kyrgios win his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon this year? Let us know your views in the comments below.