Billie Jean King will be this year’s Rose Parade grand marshal, the 2nd gay athlete to have the honor

The Rose Parade will have a gay athlete as its grand marshal on January 1, and she’s actually the second gay athlete to receive the honor.

Tennis legend Billie Jean King will serve as the grand marshal of the Rose Parade, which is the annual ringing in of the new year in Pasadena, ahead of the Rose Bowl.

“Excited to announce that I have been selected as the Grand Marshal of the 2025 Rose Parade to usher in the new year,” King wrote on X.

“It is such an honor to serve in this role for the 136th Rose Parade, and to participate in the pre-game ceremony at the Rose Bowl Game. I’m truly thrilled to be part of the Tournament of Roses family.”

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King grew up in Southern California, born in Long Beach and going to college at Cal State Los Angeles. So she’s well-versed in the pageantry and excitement of the Rose Parade.

There has been one other out gay athlete chosen as the Rose Parade grand marshal. In 2017, following the Rio Summer Olympics, Greg Louganis rode in the grand marshal car. That was one of the few years there were multiple grand marshals, as he was joined by Olympians Janet Evans and Alison Felix (who had just won two golds and a silver in Rio).

King has been a trailblazer in sports on so many levels, one of the architects of professional women’s tennis, one of the first (if not the first) publicly out high-profile athletes, and even in her later years a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as a major force behind the elevation of women’s ice hockey.

Last year King, along with partner Ilona Kloss, was named at the top of Outsports’ Power 100, which listed 100 of the most influential out LGBTQ people in American sports. Apparently the Tournament of Roses was watching!

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