Long Beach tennis legend — and iconic advocate for gender equality — Billie Jean King received yet another honor on Wednesday, Oct. 2, this time at Cal State Los Angeles.
CSULA officials gathered at the university’s Physical Education Building to unveil a new statue in honor of King’s achievements and advocacy, with the Long Beach icon herself in attendance.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King poses with her doubles partner Rosie Casals, left, and wife Alana Kloss, right, at Cal State LA before being honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles university on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tennis legend Billie Jean King was honored with a bronze statue at Cal State LA on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tennis legend Billie Jean King meets with Cal State LA’s athletes before being honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles university on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Morgan Sjoerdsma, 23, of the golf team, asks tennis legend Billie Jean King a question in Cal State LA’s gym before King was honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles University on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tennis legend Billie Jean King poses with the women’s tennis team at Cal State LA before being honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles University on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tennis legend Billie Jean King meets with Cal State LA’s athletes before being honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles university on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tennis legend Billie Jean King walks through Cal State LA’s women’s tennis team before being honored with a bronze statue on the Cal State LA campus on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. An alumna who received an honorary doctorate from the college vowed during her speech to complete her degree. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tennis legend Billie Jean King reacts during the unveiling of a bronze statue in her honor at Cal State LA on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. An alumna who received an honorary doctorate from the college vowed during her speech to complete her degree. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Cal State LA’s women’s tennis team cheers on tennis legend Billie Jean King at Cal State LA where she was honored with a bronze statue on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Sportscaster Jim Hill hugs tennis legend Billie Jean King as she enters Cal State LA’s gym to greet athletes before being honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles university on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Tennis legend Billie Jean King poses with her doubles partner Rosie Casals, left, and wife Alana Kloss, right, at Cal State LA before being honored with a bronze statue at the Los Angeles university on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
“A world champion athlete and global advocate for social justice, Billie Jean King has long fought for equal rights in sports, and more broadly, for gender equality,” CSULA said in a news release. “King is a distinguished alumna and longtime friend of the university and has helped support many Golden Eagle student-athletes during the past two decades.”
King attended CSULA from 1961 to 1964, the university said, and later in her career, she was awarded with an honorary doctorate during the university’s 50th commencement ceremony in 1997.
The honor is yet another in King’s long and storied life. Most recently, she made history as the first individual woman athlete awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
