.Sep 17, 2024, 09:18 PM ETWASHINGTON-- Billie Jean King will definitely end up being the initial personal girls's athlete to become awarded the Legislative Gold Medal.Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania as well as Mikie Sherrill of New Jacket declared Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed your home of Reps and also will be actually sent to Head of state Joe Biden for his signature.The costs to recognize King, the ping pong Hallway of Famer as well as activist, had actually currently passed with one voice in the Senate.Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a declaration that King's "lifetime of proposal as well as hard work altered the garden for girls and also gals on the courtroom, in the class, and the work environment." The bill was presented in September 2023 on the 50th anniversary of King's victory over Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexual activities," still the most-watched ping pong match of all time. The award, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements as well as contributions to community, has earlier been provided to professional athletes, including pitcher Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente and also golf enthusiasts Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and also Arnold Palmer.King had presently been actually granted the Governmental Award of Liberty in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican politician, says she has "damaged barriers, led unexplored paths, and encouraged countless individuals to stand happily along with tenacity as well as conviction in the defend what corrects.".