.Sep 17, 2024, 09:18 PM ETWASHINGTON-- Billie Jean King will end up being the 1st specific females's professional athlete to become awarded the Legislative Gold Medal.Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey revealed Tuesday that their bipartisan regulations had actually passed your house of Representatives and will be actually sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.The costs to recognize Master, the tennis Hall of Famer as well as activist, had presently passed all in the Senate.Sherrill, a Democrat, stated in a statement that King's "lifetime of campaigning for and also hard work altered the garden for girls and also gals on the court, in the classroom, and also the place of work." The expense was offered in September 2023 on the 50th anniversary of Master's triumph over Bobby Riggs in the "Fight of the Sexual activities," still the most-watched tennis match of perpetuity. The medal, awarded through Congress for prominent accomplishments and additions to society, has actually formerly been actually provided professional athletes, including baseball players Jackie Robinson and also Roberto Clemente and also golf players Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.King had already been actually rewarded the Presidential Award of Flexibility in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, states she has "faulty barricades, led unexplored paths, and also inspired numerous individuals to stand happily with guts and also view in the fight for what corrects.".