National Football League

Cowboys coach has inspirational talk with tennis legend Billie Jean King

Published Jul. 24, 2014 12:26 p.m. ET

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OXNARD, Calif. - Jason Garrett is more than willing to take advice and inspiration from any successful person, even if it's someone who admits to not knowing much about the NFL.

Earlier this month, the Dallas Cowboys head coach had a phone conversation with women's tennis legend Billie Jean King. The interaction was set up by Fort Worth Star-Telegram NFL writer Charean Williams.

The equal rights activist and winner of 39 Grand Slam titles didn't give Garrett advice on how many carries DeMarco Murray should get or how the Cowboys can improve defensively.

She spoke with Garrett about dealing with individual players and the team concept.

"It was an amazing conversation," Garrett said. "I can remember being a kid seeing her play and obviously being at the top of her field. She was No. 1 in the world for a number of years. I think she won (39) Grand Slams, (12) singles, (16) doubles (titles). It was one of the most unique conversations I've ever had in my life.

"She's one of these really brilliant people who says, 'You know I really don't know anything about it. I love watching football. I follow your team. I don't know anything about it.' Then, she'd say 10 things that were remarkably dead on and insightful.

"She's got this great way about her. She has an infectious personality, great energy. She loves football. She loves competition. She loves excellence and the pursuit of excellence, so we really had a great back and forth and I'm indebted to her for the time that we spent on the phone. I believe we'll continue that relationship. She really was a very inspirational person. I learned a lot from her."

Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota

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