Margaret Court has responded to an on-court protest by Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe advocating Tennis Australia change the name of Margaret Court Arena to Evonne Goolagong Arena in honor of another Aussie legend.
The day after Tennis Australia recognized the 50th anniversary of Margaret Court's 1970 Grand Slam, Navratilova and McEnroe joined forces unfurling a banner on court advocating renaming Margaret Court Arena to Evonne Goolagong Arena in another of another legendary Aussie champion.
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"It is now exactly clear who Court is: an amazing tennis player and a racist and a homophobe," Navratilova wrote in an open letter expressing her support of the name change. "Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights. Note to Court: we are human beings, too. She is demonizing trans kids and trans adults everywhere."
Court called the protest "very, very wrong" and suggested it's unfair for non-Australian players to protest at the Australian Open.
"I’d never go to another nation, whatever I thought of a person, I would never say, ‘Hey, you should take their name off a building’,” Court told Nine News' Georgie Gardner. . “I would never do that … I think that was very, very wrong.”
Court, who holds the all-time Grand Slam singles record with 24 major championships, has been called out as a bigot by Navratilova, McEnroe and fellow Hall of Famer Billie Jean King for her views on homosexuality and opposition to same-sex marriage.
The all-time Grand Slam champion leader, Court is the only player in history—man or woman—to win career Grand Slams in singles, doubles and mixed doubles twice. Maureen Connolly, Steffi Graf and Court are the only women in history to win the calendar-year Grand Slam.
Court counters her critics are bullying her and trying to diminish her legacy over her religious views.
“I think it’s bullying. I think they always said that we were bullying them but I think there’s a lot of bullying gone on, intimidation,” Court told Sky News. “I think everybody has their views. I have nothing against gay people and you know we have them in our church and I help them. (But) this is a Judaeo-Christian nation and I believe we should protect marriage.”
The 7,500-seat venue, which has a retractable roof and also hosts basketball and net ball, was officially re-named “Margaret Court Arena” as a tribute to the 11-time Australian Open champion on the eve of the 2003 Australian Open.
Prior to his protest, McEnroe mocked Court's history of "using the bible of the dummy to say whatever she wants."
"There's only one thing longer than the list of Margaret Court's tennis achievements: it's her list of offensive and homophobic statements," McEnroe said on his Eurosport show The Commissioner of Tennis. "Just a few examples: during the apartheid regime in South Africa, she said 'I love South Africa, they have the racial situation better organized than anyone else.' What?!
"About transgender children and LGBTIQ [she said]: 'It's all the work of the devil. Tennis if full of lesbians. It is sad for children to be exposed to homosexuality.' Margaret Court is actually a ventriloquist using the bible of the dummy to say whatever she wants."
Court, who said she's always had a friendly relationship with McEnroe, said she "feels sorry" for her fellow Hall of Famer.
“I always got on quite well with John McEnroe," Court told Nine News. "I always thought we got on and I’ve always respected him. I feel sorry for him that he can’t separate one part of life to another.”
Court called her treatment at the 2020 AO "very sad" and says she feels she's being discriminated against for her religious beliefs.
“They (TA) were going to honor me, but not celebrate me and my views on gay marriage,” Court said. “I’m a preacher. They think I’m going to preach the gospel.
“They have pointed the finger at me and tried to discriminate in everything that I’ve done, and I think that’s very sad.”
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