Billie Jean King is a legend in the tennis world — a former No. 1 ranked player with 39 Grand Slam titles, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

King is also renowned for her efforts toward achieving gender equality, famously defeating Bobby Riggs in 1973’s “Battle of the Sexes” and threatening to boycott the U.S. Open unless the tournament offered equal prize money to both men and women.

More recently, President Obama honored King as a member of the U.S. delegation at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the celebrated athlete and activist continues to lend her talents to efforts aimed at furthering the rights of women and LGBT citizens.

You may think you know a lot about this lesbian icon, but here are 10 tidbits we think may surprise you.

1. King was one of Time magazine’s Persons of the Year in 1975.

2. Her younger brother, Randy Moffitt, was a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays.

3. From 1965 through 1987, Billie Jean was married to Larry King. (No, not that Larry King.)

4. King once played a judge in a 2007 episode of “Law and Order.”

5. King’s life partner, Ilana Kloss, was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

6. Elton John’s 1975 #1 hit “Philadelphia Freedom” was written as a favor to King who was a member of the Philadelphia Freedoms professional tennis team.

7. King’s father was an engineer for the fire department and her mother was an Avon representative.

8. King is the founder and first president of the Women’s Tennis Association.

9. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

10. In 1971, King became the first female athlete to win over $100,000.

Want more fun facts about the women we love? Just click here!

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What did you miss this week in the world of LGBT news? Check out our Lesbian.com round-up and you’ll be ready to gather ’round the rainbow-colored water cooler to talk about five of the biggest, best and most interesting stories for July 6 – July 12.

Lesbian college student expelled for marrying partner

On Wednesday, Christian Minard, 22, received written notice from Southwestern Christian University that she was being expelled. The reason? She married her same-sex partner.

“I was informed that you recently married someone of the same sex and saw a few pictures from Facebook,” Brad Davis, the school’s vice president of student life, wrote. “Of course, this is opposing to our view as an International Pentecostal Holiness denominational university as well as the Lifestyle Covenant that all students must agree and sign.”

Minard, who married her partner March 17, is just one semester shy of earning her degree in sports management from the the International Pentecostal Holiness Church affiliated university. She claims that other students violate the cited Lifestyle Covenant regularly without repercussion and believes she was singled out for being a lesbian.

The expulsion leaves the would-be senior with an uncertain future.

“I’m trying to figure out how and where I can graduate,” Minard told CNN, noting that she’ll have to start paying off her loans at the end of next year unless things change. “… It’s going to be hard to get into classes that may be full, because they gave me very little notice before the fall semester starts.”

Italian mayor wants to ban same-sex PDA

If Mayor Gianluca Buonanno of Borgosesia, an Italian municipality, gets his way same-sex couples who kiss in public could be fined up to 500 euros ($680 USD) for the affectionate display.

Per a Huffington Post translation, Mayor Buonanno told Italian newspaper La Repubblica, “Kissing in public between homosexuals? No thanks… It’s a matter of respect. And I am convinced that is morally harmful for children.”

Buonanno is regarded as an eccentric, having previously engaged in behavior uncharacteristic of someone in position, including shredding the European Union flag to use as a handkerchief, waving a sea bass around during a session of Parliament and now announcing his intention to add a photo of anti-gay Russian President Vladimir Putin to his office decor.

According to Pink News, European Parliament member Daniele Viotti said the “new decree is just the latest, pathetic publicity stunt by a narrow-minded man who desperately wants to be in the spotlight.”

Colorado marriage ban struck down

On Wednesday, District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree ruled that Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Crabtree found that Amendment 43 of the state constitution, approved by voters in 2006 and defining marriage as being between one man and one woman, “bears no rational relationship to any conceivable government interest.”

In his 49-page decision, the judge also stated that, “confining same-sex couples to civil unions is further evidence of discrimination against same-sex couples and does not ameliorate the discriminatory effect of the Marriage Bans.”

Crabtree immediately put his ruling on hold pending an appeal and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers issued a statement on his website indicating his intention to do just that.

“Judge Crabtree provides additional clarity that until the high court rules on the issue of same-sex marriage, Colorado’s current laws remain in place,” said Suthers.

2014 Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and Olympic swimmer Diana Nyad were among those honored Friday as inductees into the LGBT Sports Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization launched in 2013 and headquartered in Chicago, was established to honor individuals and organizations whose achievements and efforts have enhanced the fields of sports and athletics for the gay and lesbian community.

Other notables joining Griner and Nyad in the 2014 class were Billy Bean (MLB), Wade Davis (NFL), Mayor George Moscone (straight ally, deceased), Tom Daley (Olympic diver) and Nike.

The inaugural 2013 class of inductees included tennis legends Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, and LPGA Tour champion Patty Sheehan.

Lesbian moms denied family pool pass

An outdated ordinance in Galion, Ohio, which defines a family as a “mother, father and up to three children” came under fire this week when Melody Mohn and her partner, Hela Young, attempted to buy a family pool pass at Galion’s Heise Park.

Mohn, a mother of three, had purchased a family pass for herself and her three children for the past nine years, but when she inquired about adding her partner under the “family” rate, she was denied based on the city’s definition of family.

Members of the city council agree that the ordinance language needs to be changed.

“We certainly don’t want to do anything to prevent children and parents to go swimming in our pool,” Carl Watt, Galion City Council president, told a local news station, adding about the current definition of family, “I mean, 20 years ago, it probably fit the scene, but not today. Not today’s lifestyle.”

Mohn is glad the City Council will be updating the ordinance and has no regrets about pushing for the change.

“We’re not the only same-sex couple, and we’re not the only non-traditional family, either,” said Mohn.

Given that the pool is set to close next month, it is unlikely that the Mohn/Young household will enjoy a family rate at the pool until 2015.

The post LGBT week in review: Lesbian student expelled, Griner inducted, lesbian moms denied first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Billie Jean King is headed to Sochi after all.

The openly lesbian tennis legend was originally named to the U.S. delegation slated to attend the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies on Feb. 7. However, her mother’s failing health forced her to withdraw from the contingent.

AP reports that the White House named King on Friday in an updated five-member delegation that will represent the United States at the closing ceremony on Feb. 23. It will be led by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

“I will use this trip to honor the memory of my mother and to further my mission of equality,” King said in a statement to The Associated Press. “I am thankful to President Obama for including me and I look forward to supporting the men and women of Team USA in Sochi.”

King’s mother, Betty Moffitt, passed away on Feb. 7 at her home in Prescott, Ariz., at the age of 91. King and her brother Randy Moffitt were by her side.

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Every lesbian deserves her own super sweet Valentine. So in case you don’t already have one of your own this year, we’ve gathered a collection of Imaginary Valentines from a handful of our favorite lesbians.

Just pick your favorite celesbian and enjoy her special love note written just for you. (We can pretend, right?)

Ellen DeGeneres

Billie Jean King

Brittney Griner

Melissa Etheridge

Abby Wambach

Jillian Michaels

Happy Valentine’s Day from Lesbian.com!

Looking for your real-life love story? OneGoodLove.com is the leading online dating site created specifically for the relationship-minded LGBT community by the LGBT community. We understand how challenging finding love can be so find LOVE now.

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The lesbian tennis legend whom President Obama tapped to represent the United States as part of the delegation at the upcoming Olympics won’t make the journey to Russia.

Billie Jean King announced in a statement provided to the Washington Blade that she’s unable to attend because her mother’s health is failing.

“With my mother in failing health, I will not be able to join the U.S. Presidential Delegation at this week’s opening ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics,” King said. “It is important for me to be with my mother and my brother at this difficult time. I want to thank President Obama for including me in this historic mission and I look forward to supporting our athletes as they compete in Sochi.”

Read more at Washington Blade

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source.

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World famous tennis player and openly out athlete, Billie Jean King, suggested that instead of boycotting the Winter Olympics, the LGBT community and allies should use the event as an opportunity to take action.

King, who was appointed by President Obama to represent the United States in the delegation for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, told CNN, “Maybe we should wave rainbow flags or something, I don’t know.” She added, “As long as we’re not being malicious — we can show our feelings.”

Read more at dot429.com

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I know nothing about tennis except that it’s thrilling to watch athletes play the sport. I’m in love with love but am clueless about love on the tennis court. As to a match point, well, I’ve always avoided playing with matches. Yet, when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the historic “Battle of the Sexes” 40 years ago this month on Sept. 20, 1973, my life, as was the case with so many women (and men), changed.

The PBS program “American Masters: Billie Jean King,” which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the “Battle of the Sexes” as well as King’s iconic impact on both tennis and the culture, premiered last week. The engaging film, a part of the Emmy-winning series “American Masters,” can be viewed on the PBS site. The show highlights King’s founding of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973, the year when the U.S. Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men and women.

Read more at Washington Blade

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source.

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Billie Jean King (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images / August 6, 2013)

BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Washington Blade

Retired tennis champion Billie Jean King on Monday said individual athletes should decide whether to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics that will take place in Sochi, Russia, early next year. King, who came out as a lesbian in 1981 after her relationship with her secretary became public, spoke about calls to boycott the Sochi games as outrage over a law that bans gay propaganda to minors in Russia and the country’s overall LGBT rights record continues to grow.

“The athletes who have the most to derive from it and the least to derive from it if they don’t go, I think they should get the vote,” she said in response to a Washington Blade question about the issue on a conference call during which she discussed an episode of the PBS series “American Masters.” “This is the Olympics. This is about the athletes and the fans, so it’s a really hard call.”

Read more at Washington Blade

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source

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Take a host of LGBT celebrities, sit them down and make them talk about President Obama’s advocacy and what do you get? This inspiring video:

That’s Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Billie Jean King, George Takei, Wanda Sykes, Zachary Quinto and Chaz Bono sharing why, on LGBT issues alone, they support President Obama over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Read more at Care2.com

Care2 is the largest online community of people passionate about making a difference.

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Legendary tennis pro Billie Jean King marked the 40th anniversary of Title IX by serving on ESPN’s “The Power of IX” panel at the network’s Bristol, Conn., campus on Friday. The discussion was part of ESPN and espnW’s three-month long initiative to recognize the landmark bill, passed on June 23, 1972.

King was joined by fellow panelists Bernice Sandler, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Teresa Edwards, Lyn St. James and host Chris McKendry.

“The way people make change is you have to be unhappy about something,” Sandler said. “And then you have to get a bunch of people together who feel the same thing. And then you have to make a stink about it,” noted Sandler, the woman considered to be the Godmother of Title IX.

When Sandler was passed over for a job at the University of Maryland in 1969 for “coming on too strong as a woman” she enlisted the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Women’s Equity Action League to file a greviance against the University of Maryland. Three years later, Title IX was signed into law, effectively ending sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.

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