She’s the most successful tennis player in history, and this year’s Australian Open marks the 50th anniversary of her victory in four grand slam titles in a single year — an achievement she wants celebrated. But Tennis Australia (sitting well and truly on the fence) has declared it will formally “recognise, but not celebrate” Margaret Court in an attempt to separate her sporting legacy from her long history of bigoted commentary.
Court, for her part, wants to be lionised like her contemporary Rod Laver. Crikey takes a look at some of the more controversial statements the player-turned-pastor has made over her career.
- On apartheid, 1970: “South Africans have this thing better organised than any other country, particularly America.”
- When rejecting an offer to join the women’s lib movement, 1971: “If you worry too much about money, you become hard, like a man.”
- On playing in apartheid South Africa with her Indigenous doubles partner Evonne Goolagong, 1971: “Even if the South African government rejects Evonne on racial grounds I will still go.”
- On opponent Martina Navratilova, 1990: “A great player but I’d like someone at the top who the younger players can look up to. It’s very sad for children to be exposed to homosexuality. Martina is a nice person. Her life has just gone astray.”
- On the birth of tennis player Casey Dellacqua’s baby in a same-sex relationship, 2013: “This baby has seemingly been deprived of a father.”
- On gay marriage, 2017: “They want marriage because they want to destroy it … There will be no Mother’s Day, there will be no Father’s Day, there will be no Easter, there will be no Christmas.”
- On Qantas’ stance on marriage equality, 2017: “I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage … I believe in marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the Bible.”
- On LGBTIQ rights, 2017: “Tennis is full of lesbians”; LGBTIQ tendencies are “all the devil”; and speaking to children about same-sex rights and transgenderism is akin to “what Hitler did”.
And finally, in 2013, some advice of her own that Court might consider heeding:
- “If things aren’t right in your life or you’re not where you want to be check up on your mouth, what are you saying?”
Yes, her record of grand slam wins is unsurpassed but how many tournaments was she playing each year? Compare that to the number played on today’s professional circuit.
As typified in the movie “Chariots of Fire”, there is an inherent clash between elite sport and conservative religion. While religion claims lifelong dedication, elite sport pretends corporate ownership of those who have risen to fame under its system. What Margaret Court has provoked was experienced by Eric Liddel, Adam Goode, every Muslim professional sportswoman and most Aboriginal sports identities. If Professional Sport makes anyone an idol, the corporate body pretends what most employers would shrink from: ownership and control 24/7. Politicians also suffer this problem.
Hear! Hear! Thteribl, Margaret Court is not owned by Tennis Australia, any more than Adam Goode or Isreal Folau or Peter Norman are/were owned by their respective “Sporting” bodies!
These “Sporting” bodies represent people in sport. They are not elected political or ethical or moral bodies. Indeed, by their attitudes and words they seem to be struggling with the meaning of these words!
I find it laughable when others call any one a bigot and try to sanction them, because they do not toe the line with which the judging person proclaims to be the right path.
In our great system of Government we are still permitted to have and voice our views providing we do not set out to harm or degrade others. Which it could be argued that those who oppose Margaret Court’s views are doing.
What would be the back lash if a church was to ban LGBTIQ people from it’s meetings?
Remember the LGBTIQ have already tried to gage a man of the cloth in Tasmania because of his views. They tried to use the courts to do it, but failed. His next sermon was a ripper.
And yes I work with people of different persuasion, religions as well as a number of Homosexuals and Lesbians with out any problems. We have a great team.
The problem with Margaret Court is that she accuses LGTBQI people of brainwashing young people with their satanistic ideas. She doesn’t understand that professing her ideology is much more harmful than the “devil” idea that people deserve respect regardless of their gender orientation or sexual partner.
Seriously, telling children that LGTBQI people are the devil? This is harmful.
Margaret Court was a great tennis player, unsurpassed. She is also a bigot and a spreader of hatred, division and discrimination. To think that such a person is a pastor with presumably a teaching role frankly horrifies me.
Ones commitment to free speech is most tested with speech one most strongly disagrees with. I’ve long been against everything she stands for and blathers on about. The history of sport though if nothing else is a litany if dreadful people.
Let me compile an incomplete different list of awful people who don’t get the sanctimonious treatment Court gets.
-All those old AFL behind the scenes bashers lauded as greats of the game who should have been tried for grievous bodily harm.
– all those Ministers and at least one Prime Minister who’ve said much the same as Court on a much bigger publicly funded stage more often and loudly.
– special mention to the two awful brats of tennis McEnroe and Connors, who dragged a once great game into the gutter unsanctioned by a gutless money driven sports administration. That’s ok though because they didn’t say anything about gays.
It’s fine to go on about prejudice and marginalisation against women but somehow there’s an unwritten statute of deserving suitability. So much for the collective sisterhood. Shame on the lot of you.
She’s just another dumb sportsperson whose skills on the sports field are in inverse proportion to her intellectual intelligence and whose uninformed social views are given too much oxygen. But for heavens sake, she was a bloody good tennis player – celebrate it!