Everyone knows the wars Billie Jean King has waged for equality in areas from professional tennis to unions over the years. However, the Tennis Hall of Famer, entrepreneur and activist turned her sights to the National Football League, when she sat down with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians for a segment of “The Grind,” a first year weekly show about the inner workings of the NFL on premium TV platform EPIX.
While some may think it’s unusual for BJK to spend time with the veteran, crusty Bucs skipper, in reality they have much in common. Arians hired Jen Welter as the first female NFL coach while he was with the Arizona Cardinals, and he doubled down in Tampa with two women on his staff, Lori Locust, Assistant Defensive Line Coach and Maral Jaradifar, Bucs Asst. Strength and Conditioning Coach. King and Arians spent time talking about the workplace, the challenges of coaching and the ability for a sport like the NFL to be leaders, not followers, in gender equity.
Bobby Riggs is probably spinning in his grave. A clip of the show can be seen here: http://qlnk.io/ql/5ddc35c9e4b0ea952a888218 To see the full episode, click here: http://www.nflfilmstv.com/TheGrind_Week12.mp4