Is Billie Jean King The Owner Major League Baseball Has Been Waiting For?
Published to Forbes on September 30, 2018
Four decades ago Billie Jean King co-founded World Team Tennis (WTT). It was an innovative format based on her life’s philosophy – men and women playing together as a team and as equals. Last year, she sold her majority ownership interest in WTT but retained ownership the Philadelphia Freedoms, one of the league’s six teams, as well as a maintaining a minority role with WTT. It appeared the King was stepping back and perhaps planning to dedicate more of her time and energy towards advancing the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative.
Instead, King and her partner,Ilana Kloss, who formerly served as the CEO and Commissioner of WTT, recently showed that they are not slowing down anytime soon. Last week, the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, led by Guggenheim Baseball Management Group Chairman Mark Walter and NBA legend Magic John, announced that King and Kloss joined its ownership group.