Philadelphia Freedom (song) honour Billie Jean King, and so asked Taupin to write a song called "Philadelphia Freedom" as a homage to her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms. In "His Song: The Musical History of Elton John", Elizabeth Rosenthal recounts that Taupin said, "I can't write a song about tennis," and did not. Taupin maintains that the lyrics bear no relation to tennis, Philly Soul, or even flag-waving patriotism. Nonetheless, the lyrics have been interpreted as patriotic and uplifting, and even though it was released in 1975, the song's sentiment, intentionally or not, meshed perfectly with an American music audience gearing up for
Billie Jean King professional female to come out as bisexual. Although Billie Jean identifies as a lesbian, because she is still attracted to and physically prefers women to men, she believes she should be labeled as bisexual, and if anything were to happen to her current relationship, she would not rule out a future relationship with a man. Feeling she could not admit to the extent of the relationship, Billie Jean publicly called it a fling and a mistake. She remained married to Larry. The lawsuit caused Billie Jean to lose an estimated $2 million in endorsements and forced her to prolong her