Photo credit: NBC News
Billie Jean King, the 82-year-old sports and equality icon, has celebrated earning a college degree 65 years after she first took classes.
The Associated Press reports that the tennis legend received her Bachelor of Arts in history from Cal State Los Angeles on Monday, walking across the stage in hot pink glasses and royal blue sneakers at the Shrine Auditorium with about 6,000 others in the class of 2026.
“It’s never too late, whatever age you are, whatever your abilities are, go for it if you want it,” she said afterwards.
King’s black gown was accented with a gold graduation stole personalized by a friend. One side included her initials and the letters G.O.A.T., referring to greatest of all time. A multi-coloured tennis racket was embroidered on the other side.
“It means a lot more to me than I thought,” she said. “I am so glad I did it. My hope is that one other person will go back to school.”
She announced two years ago that she would work on completing her degree at the school where her bronze statue stands outside the physical education building. She’s the first member of her immediate family to graduate from college, similar to the majority of her fellow graduates. The school has a predominantly Hispanic and Latino student body.
“Being a student-athlete didn’t mean I had a scholarship,” she told the crowd. “Financial support wasn’t available to women in 1961, even though my friends Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith were both scholarship students on the men’s teams at UCLA and USC.”
King is committed to working toward equality and inclusion for all.
“We can never understand inclusion unless we’ve been excluded,” she said.
At one point, a screaming baby on the balcony interrupted King.
“Is it that bad?” she asked, as the crowd laughed.
Joined by student athletes and the school mascot, King hit autographed tennis balls into the crowd.
