Billie Jean King Claims Ashe Reversed Stance On Equal Pay, But There Is No Proof

In her new book “All In”, Billie Jean King claims Arthur Ashe reversed his stance on equal pay for men and women after he had a daughter (adopted daughter Camera born in 1986).

Ashe was vehemently against equal pay for men and women tennis players, as he made abundantly clear in a 1980 interview on The Dick Cavett Show.

King claims she later changed Ashe’s mind on the issue however there is no documented proof of Ashe speaking in support of equal prize money.

In Ashe’s book “Days of Grace”, published in 1995, two years after he passed away on Feb. 6, 1993, King actually wrote a six-page introduction foreword about her adored memories and strong feelings for Ashe in the book. King did not mention anything about Ashe’s position of being against equal prize money – or that she privately managed to convince him to switch over to supporting equal prize money for women.

Google searches on the matter also failed to locate any press interviews or statements of Ashe discussing King converting him from being against to supporting equal prize money, after he adopted daughter Camera.

So one has to wonder: Did Billie Jean King fabricate a fake news false story that she convinced Arthur Ashe to support equal prize money? Does any proof exist about it, other than King’s word?

Here is what Ashe said on the 1980 Dick Cavett Show:

 “We’ve come to realize, like other sports, our appeal (as tennis players) is about 70 percent entertainment and 30 percent sport,” said Ashe on the 1980 telecast in a New York City studio. “And as such, the amount of money that we make or we can command in prize money, is directly related to our box office appeal. What I said was that women don’t deserve the same amount of prize money as men. They don’t. We are not out there making car doors for Ford Motor Company. One example that I like to use is let’s suppose that Caesars Palace (in Las Vegas) was going to have The Carpenters (perform a concert) one week and Frank Sinatra the next week. Now would you pay Frank Sinatra the same that you would pay The Carpenters? Obviously not. You’d pay Frank quite a bit more than you’d pay The Carpenters. For the exact same number of hours.”

“All I was saying was that the caliber or quality of matches put on by a draw of 128 women, in no way, right now in the Fall of 1980, equals the appeal of a draw of the best 128 men. One day the women might command more. But right now it’s not the same. But at the top, there’s no question that Chrissie or Tracy Austin, they are just as powerful as a Borg or a McEnroe. But, unfortunately, in the first round of 64 matches, the top women usually win those matches very easily. Chrissie Evert seldom loses more than two games a set before she gets to the quarterfinal. But it’s almost assuredly one of the sixteen seeds in the men’s will lose in the first or second round.”

Ashe revealed that King confronted him about his equal prize money opinions. “Billie Jean…she got on me,” said Ashe. “She said, ‘How can you do that? After all I supported you through the civil rights days. You let me down.’ I said, ‘Billie Jean, it’s apples and oranges. We’re not talking about the same thing. I would support you whole-heartedly if you were striking Ford Motor Company because they didn’t pay you the same as the pay a man for doing the same job. But this is entertainment. This is not a job like most other people have. It’s whatever you can bargain for.’”

It does not make sense that if Ashe reversed his strong beliefs about equal prize money that he would not speak about it publicly and passionately, like he did on the Cavett Show.

Billie Jean King needs to provide detailed evidence to support her claims Ashe reversed his opinion, otherwise it may be possible King fabricated the anecdote for political advantage and agenda pushing.

All In · Arthur Ashe · Billie Jean King · Equal pay

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