national tennis center, and joe kernen sat down with billie jean king. >> joining us now, billies pro, ranked number one in the world six times over her career. 39 grand slam titles thank you, billie, i cleared it with you already that i can call you billie jean. >> yes, please i'll call you joe. >> you can definitely call me joe. very excited about having you here we were going to talk u.s. open. we were going to talk all about covid, but given what happened yesterday with the nba, and given that you're someone that really has fought for equality for your entire career, what is your initial take on the developments of the last 24 hours with the nba >> i'm thrilled. it's not just the nba, the wnba has joined, it's been tennis has absolutely joined. we postponed our matches yesterday. we are going to continue to use our platform at the u.s. open for positive change, for equality and justice arthur ashe was a part of that as well back in the '70s he and i were born the same year we always fought for equality for everyone black lives do matter, and we've got to keep our, you know, t

billy jean king said in life champions adjust. guys? >> i love what she said dash d dare a -- and i want to one. >>> coming up the shocking loss of chadwick boseman. we learn more about colon cancer and the big programming announcement you won't want to miss. >>> college in the era of covid-19, where the virus is hitting hard and where football games started up again overnight. >>> meet the so-called kid superintendent. look how cute he is. how he's inspiring students when "gma" comes back. >>> "good morning america" respon sponsored by liberty mutual in rans. let me grab a pen and some paper. know what? i'm gonna switch now. just need my desk... my chair... and my phone. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ look at that embarrassing you. that wall is your everest. but not any more. today let's paint. and right now, get incredible savings on behr premium paints and stains. exclusively at the home depot. so to breathe better, i started once-daily anoro. ♪ copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my

billie jean king. they stood up and i was just proud for one moment they didn't listen to their agents, parents maybe that were scared, didn't worry about the repercussions on the children in school. they just said this is so important i have to do it. you are right. the arc of history will, it will tell the true story and right now, the courage, the bravery at this moment, it inspires me. >> the importance of history, this has all happened before. these arguments, the arguments made today, the criticisms that are being made today, it is nothing new. it happened to people over the course of generations, forms, people but we are seeing things repeat itself and sometimes for better, auoftentimes for worse. thank you. >> thank you. >>> the police chief in kenosha blaming protesters for being out past curfew. >>> plus, a fox host appears to defend the suspected gunman saying it is not surprising to take up arms to maintain order. >>> live to the gulf where a massive hurricane hit texas, louisiana and cause

what i'm excited about, the pandemic could be what billie jean king and bobby riggs were -- tom: in whatwe just got news that tennis participation for entry-level players has doubled in the last two months. in quarantine you did not get any exercise or socialize or have intellectual stimulation. you go out to tennis courts and you can have all of those benefits. sales forket entry-level tennis rackets nearly doubled in the last three months. we see tennis coming out of this with the big boom. lisa: have you seen a financial hit from the lack of live games and games that could be broadcast, or are you seeing a boom on the other side because of the ability to do this sport with social distancing? michael: as far as the industry, it is coming back strong after being shut down. entry-level tennis is where it is taking off. it is a challenge this year. without fans, our net income will be down about 80%. it is a big hit for us this year. even with that, we have had some toerves, we are able continue and offer equivalent prize money to last year and keep the operation going. tom: the only way

. >> but this is truly fitting because billy jean king, the na namesake saying she appreciates the actions and said this is a moment in time when we could truly, truly change things. and matches are played at the arthur ash stadium where all of the action will be happening. the man who is named after this center, he himself had his own racial justice actions during his own lifetime. so this really is a moment that everything is going to be watching the u.s. open to see what happens because osauka and king have vowed, even though there are no protests planned, they are vowed to use their platform to highlight the issues during the forum so we'll see what form that takes. >> i've been to the u.s. open for many years and fortunate to go there and they wrap themselves in the flag and patriotism at the start of opening night. a lot of songs for god bless america, and america the beautiful and national anthem, curious to see what the athletes do if they go through with the performances ahead of time. cory coughlin live in tennessee. i'm glad that tennis is back. i'm glad the nba is back. they ha

msnbc is at the billie jean king tennis with what the latest they are doing to keep other players safeot of strict protocols similar to the nba bubble but on an international scale. players are quarantined and tested right when they arrive. they are tested two days later and every four days after that. there's also a tier system within the bubble. players are in tier one support staffer, et cetera. that is so that the different tiers doing interarkt as much and you can limit any potential spread from there. tournament worked with new york state to make sure this area was safe. the numbers were low enough the make sure they could hold this event. they still will not have any fans in person. it's a loss of $320 million in revenue for the tournament. in fact, they had to dip in their reserves to make this event go this year. why even have it then. why not postpone it or wait till next year? listen to what the tournament director told me. >> it's about our fans. although they are not with us on site, they with with us around the world. we know fans wanted live sport again. there's part of

open tennis championship is underway at the billie jean king in flushing meadows, queens. it is a different scene then years past when fans roamed the grounds and civilians were stocked of t-shirts and hats were well consumed. this year's event is being held in a bubble where no spectators are present and some of the world's best players like rafael nadal for example are not participating. joining us for more on the economic implications of a tournament is meadows.om flushing i understand you are in one of the offices beneath the stadium, is that correct? lou: that's correct. and happy to be with you on the first day of the u.s. open. vonnie: the first week typically can be a hugely busy week because tickets are usually less expensive and fans get to come in and take in the whole atmosphere of the practice courts. how is it this year with literally no one around but your staff? lou: it is very unusual for all of us. for players, for staff. we ordinarily might have 60,000 or 70,000 people over the course of a day during the first week and this year, we have probably fewer t

players will face off at the billie jean king national tennis center, with no fans.wo players, one from france in the u.s. have already withdrawn from the tournament after testing positive for covid-19. >>> now to stanford university which is going to great lengths to help avoid the spread of covid-19 on campus. university leaders say they will start to turn away any community member trying to access the campus. the school says it is working to minimize interactions between nonessential visitors, students, and staff. they will be required to display stanford id cards. way up north, chico state is canceling classes for the rest of the semester because of a rapid rise in the number of covid-19 cases. school officials say they have been nearly 30 new cases connected to the campus. the positive tests affect classrooms and a majority of the on-campus housing facilities, with more people exposed. students who have been living in the residence halls are now being told to find off-campus housing by next sunday. >>> to san francisco where enrollment has dropped in a big way a

players will face off at the billy jean king national tennis center with no fans. i'm not sure what this video is. it's a tiger. but i'm going to talk about the tennis tournament anyway. [ laughter ] that's funny. one player unfortunately on the u.s. team, the one player on the french team has tested positive for covid-19 so those players have withdrawn. welcome to mornings on 2 the 9:00. i'm sal castaneda along with mike mibach and gasia mikaelian. gasia, yesterday or the day before, my kids asked me, are we ever going back to normal? i really didn't know what to say. i said, i think so. >> right. it's funny, i remember at the beginning, you asked us, what do we miss most from pre-pandemic life and we talked about sporting events and concerts and going out to eat. and i have a one-word, actually two-word answer to that now. that is personal contact. that's what i miss most of all. just that physical contact, that hugging, that close talking, that whispering a joke or just that physical contact that used to come between friends, family members. i feel like i've bee

did neil armstrong, sonia sotomayor came out last month, and in february next month we do i am billie jean king, our first gay and lesbian hero. and for my daughter, it's all about women needing a voice, that's what my daughter will tell you. and after that come november, we are doing, we can now say officially, pbs is making a cartoon tv show out of our i am series. [applause] it's called -- i appreciate it, thank you. [applause] it's called xavier and their best friend brad who looks remarkably like me -- [laughter] go on adventures. they have problems, they go back in time and they come to the present, and in the moon time, i'm working on the escape artist, the sequel to escape artist which is coming out in paperback. you get the final question? >> [inaudible] >> we can do a few more. >> are you going to make an i am stan lee? >> that's a good question. i'm going to sue entertainment weekly for my rights back. yes. no, he is on the list, 100%. most of the people you hear me speak about tonight whether it's jerry and joe or stan lee, of course, i want to do an i am book on. who's your favorit

my colleague cory coughlin is joining me from the billy jean king tennis center in new york. and what do we know to the extent that this player was asymptomatic. how has this player interacted with other players? >> reporter: that is the big question, alex. it was a bit of a shock to get the news. one day before. because players have had to be here on site from the last 14 to four days. they are tested immediately when they arrive and tested again a couple of days later. that is why the protocols are in case in case the original case came negative. they are asymptomatic and had to withdraw from the tournament. we don't have a confirmed identity on the player or if they have had other interactions with other players. usta is doing tracing. so we expect to have an update from them later on this afternoon before the start of the tournament tomorrow. i also spokereor and medical professional, just about the complexity of holding this event because not only has a bubble like this never been attempted on this size but also this scope with this international stage. these players com

comes out we just did neil sonya sotomayor that came out last month and in february we do im billie jean king, first gay and lesbian hero a book about equality and for my daughter it's all about women getting a voice. after that come november we are doing, we cannot say officially, pbs is making a cartoon tv show out of our i am series -- [applause] i appreciate that. it's called xavier and his best friend brad who looks remarkably like me and they go on adventures and go back in time and they come to the present but in the meantime i'm working on the escape artist, sequel to the escape artist coming out in paperback next month. after that i am taking a nap and you get the final question. how are we doing on time? go ahead. >> are you going to make an eye am stan lee? >> requesting that i will sue entertainment weekly for my rights back. yes,. [laughter] he is on the list 100%. most of the people you hear me speak about tonight whether jerry or joe or stan lee, of course, i want to do and i am book on great who is your favorite one? >> jim henson. >> you have good parents. not everyone here h