#85 Thank you, Billie Jean
When I was young and trying to figure out where I belonged in the world, I looked around for guidance. My father encouraged me very strongly to become a physician. This was something he wanted to do and was unable to accomplish. After a stint in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he landed on a career in optometry. As a youngster, I had absolutely no exposure to female physicians, although I was aware that my mother had a female gynecologist. My pediatrician was a stately, older, white man who mumbled during my visits so that I could never quite understand what he said.
As a kid, I read books, watched too much television, and enjoyed playing sports with my twin brother. My older sisters helped bring new ideas into our home against the Vietnam War, expanding the rights of women, fighting racism, and saving our planet from pollution. I noticed that my brother had far more opportunities in organized community sports in our little town. I went along several times a week to watch his little league baseball games. There were NO recreational sports leagues for girls.
Things were changing in our society and people were just beginning to exercise their rights to protest and to vote for the causes of change that they believed in. There were breakthroughs and setbacks. Books and magazines helped to introduce new ideas that were not featured in some of the traditional sources. I am not going to research or document the history of the Women’s rights movement here. I just have my own personal experience to present.
What I saw on TV and read about in the news were women fighting for equal rights, equal opportunity, equal pay, and equal recognition. The face of so many of those fights was Billie Jean King. I grew up playing tennis by emulating the strokes of the players I saw on TV and going to the public park with my brother to practice. My family did not belong to a country club or find a pro to teach us how to play. We played and played and played until we got better.
I rooted for Billie Jean. I mean in her real matches, her hyped up battle with Bobby Riggs, her battle for equal prize money, and a pro tour for women. It seems hard to believe now, but the first tour was sponsored by a tobacco company who marketed a cigarette for women called “Virginia Slims.” Her nearly forgotten project that I liked the most, was the founding of a niche magazine called WomenSports first published in 1974. I gathered up my allowance money and purchased a subscription as soon as I could.
As soon as it came in the mail, I read it from cover to cover. For some reason, one article that stuck with me was a piece on how to read the Daily Racing Form at the horse track. This skill would come in handy from time to time. More than the people and athletics I read about were the images of women athletes that I could see in every issue. As Billie Jean likes to say, “If you could see it, you could be it.”
My opportunities in high school athletics expanded and by 1976, my little public high school in central New Jersey even added a girls’ tennis team. I played basketball, softball, and tennis. The girls’ tennis season was moved to the fall season so as not to disrupt the limited court space for the boys’ teams that played in the Spring. We felt lucky just to be able to have the opportunity to play.
Dr. Joan Naidorf in the emergency department
I was not on a tract to continue collegiate sports on the next level when I attended the University of Virginia. The skills I learned on the various playing fields helped when it came to achieving in the classroom for my pre-med classes. When I was accepted to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, I eagerly took the next step in my medical education. I went on to complete a residency in the “new” field of emergency medicine and practiced for many years in Alexandria, Virginia.
Billie Jean King’s intrepid career of excellence and advocacy helped inspire me to do the same in my medicine, where there were few women to emulate. I could see someone being brave and candid about what she believed, how she wanted to live, and what opportunities she wanted to have. I wanted the confidence to advocate for myself and step into the role of physician for myself. I treated thousands of patients over the years and saved quite a few lives. The father of one of my patients donated a million dollars to the hospital to make much needed improvements to our emergency department.
I pivoted with the lessons from Billie Jean and my experiences from decades in the emergency department to write a book entitled: Changing How we Think about Difficult Patients, a Guide for Physicians and Healthcare Professionals. I now write and speak to nurses, residents, and students about this important topic so that we can keep more of our clinicians engaged at the bedside.
Who knows how many people Billie Jean inspired to keep working towards their goals and to keep dreaming? How many people were helped, lives saved or lives changed as a direct result of her life’s work. I see those social media posts of her taking practice volleys on center court at Wimbledon and she’s still got it. Now she is modelling how to stretch, warm up, and play in maturity.
Thank you, Billie Jean
Your reach and influence cannot be fathomed. How many women were inspired even though they never picked up a racquet? I humbly offer my admiration and gratitude for your determination to keep going when the obstacles surely must have seemed insurmountable. You did not have to lead the sport and the movement, but you chose to do so. That leaping back hand volley meant so much more than an awesome tennis shot. It was everything.
