Full Breakdown
Billie Jean King’s Legacy Examined in “Give Me the Ball!” at DC/DOX
6/13/2026, 3:49:58 AM
DC/DOX Premiere and Film Overview
The documentary *Give Me the Ball!* opened the DC/DOX festival in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, June 2026. Co-directed by Elizabeth Wolff and Liz Garbus, it is a 30 For 30 Story Syndicate and ESPN Films production. Producers Dan Cogan, Chris James, Carolyn Hepburn, Natalie Fiennes, Gentry Kirby, Scott Siebers and Dominic Crossley-Holland are credited. Billie Jean King, 82, joined the Q&A.
King’s Career, Activism, and Personal Journey
King’s on-court record includes 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and she helped launch professional tennis tour. Her 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” win over Bobby Riggs attracted an estimated 93 million TV viewers, cementing her cultural impact. At Q&A she described a 12-year-old epiphany seeing an all-white tennis club and recognizing sport’s potential for social change. Film notes her marriage to attorney Larry King (1969-1987), the 1981 palimony suit by Marilyn Barnett, and her 2018 marriage to former world-No. 1 doubles champion Ilana Kloss.
Production, Restoration, and Official Support
Restoring the Riggs match footage required four houses, one in New Zealand, because only a copy of a copy existed. Producer Dan Cogan explained that the team had to clean the footage in a way never before attempted. Disney and ESPN supplied the budget, enabling the extensive archival work.
Official Statements & Responses
Cogan said Disney and ESPN’s financing enabled the high-quality restoration and the film’s fall-2026 release. King said she declined a producer credit to ensure the documentary presented “the truth” rather than a flattering self-portrait. Festival organizers highlighted the film’s relevance to gender equity and LGBTQ inclusion in sport.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I did not want what a lot of people do. I did not want to be a producer or a director in it because what happens, a person always just shows basically the best side of them. And I did not want that,” — Billie Jean King, former world No. 1 tennis player
- “Everybody played with white balls, they had white clothes and everybody who played was white,” she recalled.” — Billie Jean King, former world No. 1 tennis player
- “We had to clean that footage up in a way it had never been cleaned up since people saw it originally.” — Dan Cogan, producer
- “They gave us the budget that we needed to make this film, which was not inconsiderable.” — Dan Cogan, producer
What’s Next
*Give Me the Ball!* will receive a wide theatrical and streaming release in the fall of 2026, distributed by Disney and ESPN. Additional screenings are planned at major festivals and community venues to foster dialogue on gender equity and LGBTQ inclusion in sport.
