.Sep 17, 2024, 09:18 PM ETWASHINGTON-- Billie Jean Master will definitely come to be the 1st personal ladies's professional athlete to be granted the Legislative Gold Medal.Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and also Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey revealed Tuesday that their bipartisan laws had actually passed your house of Agents as well as would certainly be actually sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.The expense to recognize Master, the ping pong Hallway of Famer and protestor, had presently passed unanimously in the Senate.Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a declaration that Master's "lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the yard for girls as well as women on the courtroom, in the class, as well as the work environment." The costs was launched in September 2023 on the 50th anniversary of King's victory over Bobby Riggs in the "Struggle of the Sexes," still the most-watched ping pong suit of all time. The award, rewarded by Congress for distinguished accomplishments as well as additions to culture, has actually previously been offered to athletes, including pitcher Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente as well as golfers Port Nicklaus, Byron Nelson as well as Arnold Palmer.King had actually actually been rewarded the Presidential Medal of Liberty in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican politician, states she has "broken barriers, led unexplored pathways, and also inspired many people to stand up happily along with nerve and principle in the defend what is right.".