Stavros
01-15-2020, 10:21 PM
As the Australian Open prepares to begin in Melbourbe, assuming the weather enables it, the outstanding issue may not be tennis as such, but a move to re-name the Margaret Court Arena owing to the relentless attacks Ms Court has made on the LGBTQ players and the broader issue of same-sex marriage. A convert to Pentescostal Christianity in the early 1980s and someone who married into conservative West Australian politicsl Margaret Court's views can be judged in her own words:
"Homosexuality is a lust for the flesh, so is adultery, fornication," she told a talkback caller on Vision Christian Radio (http://www.mediapoint.org.au/podcasts/0001128944.mp3).
"It’s not God and I think they too know this. This is why they want marriage, because it’s self-satisfying. I think they know it comes against Christianity."
...Court said the controversial Safe Schools program, aimed at promoting acceptance of LGBT+ students, was confusing children by encouraging them to question gender issues. "That’s all the devil, we’ll say that it’s the devil," she said.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/they-re-after-our-young-ones-margaret-court-renews-attack-on-gay-lobby
See also here-
https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-australian-open-arena-that-honors-the-tennis-legend-turned-anti-gay-bigot-margaret-court
I remember Margaret Court when she was a player and although she has the stats to establish her credentials as a great winner, I don't think she was as great a player as the stats suggest, not least because many of her Australian titles were won with local and weak players before the Professional era. Court was a big woman with a wing span equivalent to a jumbo jet in tennis terms, and a crushing forehand from the baseline that eluded most of her opponents. And she was crushingly boring to watch, rarely venturing into court from the base line, having the athleticism of a Koala bear. Compare her playing to Billie Jean-King- lithe, athletic, running all over the court from the base line to the net -this was great playing, and moreover, Billie-Jean transformed tennis, for both men and women, and has urged the sport ot grow by being ever more inclusive.
I don't know if Court will turn up for the celebrations the organizers want this year, why they would want to honour such a loathesome bigot I don't know, perhaps Ms Court will take the opportunity to declare the bush fires are an act of God, punishing Australians for being immoral. Time to re-name the Margaret Court Arena the Koala Bear Arena, assuming there are any left, and to suggest to the woman concerned it would be better for all if she remained as far away from Melbourne as possible.
"Homosexuality is a lust for the flesh, so is adultery, fornication," she told a talkback caller on Vision Christian Radio (http://www.mediapoint.org.au/podcasts/0001128944.mp3).
"It’s not God and I think they too know this. This is why they want marriage, because it’s self-satisfying. I think they know it comes against Christianity."
...Court said the controversial Safe Schools program, aimed at promoting acceptance of LGBT+ students, was confusing children by encouraging them to question gender issues. "That’s all the devil, we’ll say that it’s the devil," she said.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/they-re-after-our-young-ones-margaret-court-renews-attack-on-gay-lobby
See also here-
https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-australian-open-arena-that-honors-the-tennis-legend-turned-anti-gay-bigot-margaret-court
I remember Margaret Court when she was a player and although she has the stats to establish her credentials as a great winner, I don't think she was as great a player as the stats suggest, not least because many of her Australian titles were won with local and weak players before the Professional era. Court was a big woman with a wing span equivalent to a jumbo jet in tennis terms, and a crushing forehand from the baseline that eluded most of her opponents. And she was crushingly boring to watch, rarely venturing into court from the base line, having the athleticism of a Koala bear. Compare her playing to Billie Jean-King- lithe, athletic, running all over the court from the base line to the net -this was great playing, and moreover, Billie-Jean transformed tennis, for both men and women, and has urged the sport ot grow by being ever more inclusive.
I don't know if Court will turn up for the celebrations the organizers want this year, why they would want to honour such a loathesome bigot I don't know, perhaps Ms Court will take the opportunity to declare the bush fires are an act of God, punishing Australians for being immoral. Time to re-name the Margaret Court Arena the Koala Bear Arena, assuming there are any left, and to suggest to the woman concerned it would be better for all if she remained as far away from Melbourne as possible.