‘I Was Outed in 81 for Being Gay’ – Billie Jean King tells Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios how times have changed

The year was 1981. Billie Jean King had already carved a niche for herself during her illustrious tennis career. The American player has achieved legendary status as a result of her games on the court. On May 1 of that year, Billie became the first recognized female athlete to come out publicly about her homosexuality.

What followed, however, was a terrible time for the tennis legend. She spent sleepless nights in the days following her public announcement. In addition, she lost her endorsement deals. Still, she received support from the American press and her colleagues for showing bravery and coming forward. She recently spoke about the incident during an interview 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 discuss broad topics. During their conversation, King opened up about how times have changed and mentioned her incident in 1981. She he said, “Everyone loves you, they listen to you and I think it’s great when you talk and talk about your feelings, kids need that. When I got fired for being gay in ’81, I lost everything in 24 hours.”

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She further added, “You can talk about these things and you will be celebrated, okay. So you have to decide if you’re going to let these people decide what you’re going to do with your life because you talked about mental health, because you talked about your feelings.”

Nick Kyrgios advances to the 2022 Wimbledon Championships

The Australian tennis star moved into the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam after knocking out fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. It was a high-voltage match between two stars. Kyrgios served and served extremely well throughout the match Tsitsipas almost no room to breathe.

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