.Sep 17, 2024, 09:18 PM ETWASHINGTON-- Billie Jean King will certainly become the 1st private women's athlete to become granted the Congressional Gold Medal.Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and also Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey introduced Tuesday that their bipartisan laws had actually passed the House of Agents and also will be delivered to President Joe Biden for his signature.The costs to recognize King, the ping pong Hallway of Famer and also lobbyist, had actually actually passed unanimously in the Senate.Sherrill, a Democrat, stated in a statement that King's "life-time of campaigning for and also effort altered the garden for women and women on the court, in the class, and also the office." The bill was actually presented in September 2023 on the 50th anniversary of King's success over Bobby Riggs in the "Fight of the Sexual activities," still the most-watched tennis match of perpetuity. The medal, granted by Congress for prominent accomplishments and also additions to society, has recently been provided to sportsmens, featuring pitcher Jackie Robinson as well as Roberto Clemente as well as golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.King had actually actually been actually granted the Presidential Medal of Liberty in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican politician, states she has "damaged barriers, led unexplored pathways, and also motivated a great number of individuals to stand proudly along with guts and also principle in the fight for what corrects.".