.Sep 17, 2024, 09:18 PM ETWASHINGTON-- Billie Jean Master will become the very first specific females's professional athlete to be awarded the Legislative Gold Medal.Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania as well as Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey declared Tuesday that their bipartisan laws had passed your home of Representatives as well as would certainly be actually sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.The costs to recognize Master, the ping pong Hall of Famer and also protestor, had presently passed all in the Senate.Sherrill, a Democrat, pointed out in a statement that King's "lifetime of proposal and also hard work altered the yard for females and girls on the court, in the class, and the work environment." The bill was actually presented in September 2023 on the 50th anniversary of King's success over Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes," still the most-watched ping pong suit of perpetuity. The award, awarded by Congress for notable accomplishments and also additions to culture, has recently been given to athletes, including pitcher Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente as well as golf players Port Nicklaus, Byron Nelson as well as Arnold Palmer.King had currently been awarded the Presidential Award of Liberty in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, claims she possesses "broken barricades, led unexplored pathways, and also motivated numerous people to stand happily along with guts and also principle in the fight for what corrects.".