“She will make history,” Billie Jean King celebrates gender equality with Jennifer King as coach for Chicago Bears

The Bears have hired Jennifer King as their first ever female assistant coach.

“She will make history,” Billie Jean King celebrates gender equality with Jennifer King as coach for Chicago Bears

(L) Billie Jean King; (R) Jennifer King (Via Imago)

Billie Jean King has hailed Jennifer King for becoming the first woman to be a Chicago Bears assistant coach. Jennifer King, who also became the first full-time Black female American coach in NFL history, was confirmed for the position on Wednesday.

The Chicago Bears hired Jennifer King as an offensive assistant to work with the running backs, as the NFL 2024 season enters full gear. King’s wealth of experience in the game earned her the job. Last season, she was the running backs coach for the Senior Bowl college all-star game. For the past three seasons, she was the assistant running backs coach for Washington Commanders.

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Jean Billie King, who has always been an activist for equal rights in sports, was elated by the news. She shared her joy on X, formerly known as Twitter, congratulating Jennifer King for her new role.

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Congratulations to @JenniferKing5 on her new role as an Offensive Assistant Coach with the @ChicagoBears. She will make history as the organization's first full-time woman coach!
The tennis legend wrote

Billie Jean King is known to be the pioneer of equality in sports. The American former World No.1 won 39 major titles, including 12 singles, 16 women’s doubles, and 11 mixed doubles.

Billie Jean King recalls Battle of Sexes match

Last year, during the celebration of 50 years of equal pay earlier this month which coincided with the US Open, Billie Jean King, reflected on the Battle of Sexes match. BJK who pioneered the fight for women’s players to earn the same amount as their male counterparts was honoured to speak.

Billie Jean King earned a big win for women when she defeated the then-retired Bobby Riggs in the legendary ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match that captivated audiences from around the world in Houston Astrodome.

Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (Via Imago)

Recalling the victory, BJK told People magazine that she believes the win gave women the self-confidence needed to ask for the things that they wanted.

It gave women self-confidence to ask for what they want and need because we're taught not to. They ask for raises--I've had so many women tell me how it changed their lives or their grandmother's life or whoever; just the different generations it's covered. I still do interviews for 10-year-olds that bring it up in their reports for school.

Billie Jean King went on to become one of the founders of today’s women’s tennis, known as the WTA. She has continued in her determined fight to see that women’s tennis lives up to the expectations she dreamed of.

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