“It’s important to show up”- Billie Jean King backs 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar despite ‘human rights violation’ allegations
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Billie Jean King
Former American tennis player Billie Jean King has always advocated for issues of gender equality and is a pioneer in fighting for equal rights for the LGBTQ community as well. She appreciated the decision to make Qatar the host nation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It came as a surprise since she has always stood for gender equality while the Arab country has laid strict rules for such concerns.
Jean King received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the year 2009 for her contribution to supporting the LGBTQ+ community and women. She inspired millions of people around the world and claimed her dominance throughout her career, which lasted nearly three decades. That’s not all, she is also the founder member of the Women’s Tennis Association and the famous Billie Jean King Cup tournament is named after her.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner is of hope that the World Cup might help in changing perceptions of the country towards the insensitive rules laid against women. She claimed that she is looking forward to the football championship.
“These are the kind of discussions you can have when you’re physically there. So I’m big on going to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup actually, even if I know it’s a fine line of how you do it. We were there for four or five years and I think it helped.“
Jean King further added “But personally, I think it’s important to show up and be an influencer. I think it’s delicate, no question. But I think it’s important to go if you get the opportunity and everything else fits too, not just go there for money or whatever. When I went there I did a clinic for the kids but only for the girls. Somebody was left-handed, which is sinister to them, and this mother was saying she hoped her left-handed daughter could one day become a champion and get rid of that stigma.“
Billie Jean King claimed that the World No 1’s decision to withdraw from the BJK Cup was quite early
The former World No. 1 expressed her disappointment after Iga Swiatek announced the withdrawal from the 2022 BJK Cup over poor scheduling of the commencement of the event and the conclusion of the WTA Finals with a day to spare. She had earlier expressed her concerns and requested the WTA for better scheduling, keeping in mind the health of the players due to their different time zones and climatic conditions.
Although she empathized with the situation, Billie Jean King still felt that the decision by the Polish player wasn’t entirely correct. She went on to state that she could have waited a little longer to make the final decision as she wasn’t sure how far she would reach in the WTA Finals.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)