Court has more class than her detractors
Margaret Court’s extraordinary sporting feats make her arguably Australia’s greatest ever female athlete and inarguably a tennis legend.
Margaret Court’s extraordinary sporting feats make her arguably Australia’s greatest ever female athlete and inarguably a tennis legend.
But the Australian Open organisers appear more proud of the opening of gender neutral toilets at Melbourne Park than a trailblazing female who dominated the sport at the highest level.
It’s worth noting that Court came back to tennis after motherhood to win the French, Australian and US Open, something that had never been done before.
The sport’s governing body was reluctant to acknowledge Court’s anniversary and made contact with her only after she went public about being snubbed.
When TA belatedly agreed to recognise her “unmatched tennis career” back in December, in the same press release it lambasted her at length: “Tennis Australia does not agree with Margaret’s personal views, which have demeaned and hurt many in our community over a number of years. They do not align with our values of equality, diversity and inclusion.”
In a cringe-worthy, comically hypocritical and at times sinister open letter, TA showed just how intolerant the organisation is to diverse views. TA had made it clear that if you are a devout Christian or Muslim or one of roughly 38 per cent of Australians who voted against same-sex marriage, then you’re apparently not welcome at the tennis.
“We seek to foster a sport that is inclusive and welcoming of everyone. We all bear some responsibility for creating a safe and inclusive society,” the TA letter read. “We respect that everyone has a right to an opinion — and a right to express it. Equally, we all share an obligation that while living our lives freely, we do not harm others, and we understand that there are consequences to our words.”
How very Orwellian. TA is all for free speech as long as you support their Leftist agenda, otherwise you are deemed to be harming others and deserve censure. In other words: agree with us or shut up.
“Publicly stated views of intolerance and demeaning language about others can have enormous impact and are particularly hurtful and harmful to those who believe they are targeted.”
I wonder if religious folk feel demeaned and targeted by TA and its simplistic characterisation of their beliefs. Certainly Court’s four children were sufficiently hurt to release a statement in response to TA.
And, whatever you think of Court’s religious beliefs — as an atheist and SSM supporter I am deeply at odds with many of her positions — there is no doubt that she has done extensive charitable works, including feeding thousands of Perth’s homeless and needy.
One would have thought that TA might have learnt from the many mistakes made by Rugby Australia which, in its eagerness to showcase its diversity and inclusiveness, succeeded only in alienating a significant number of Polynesian players who shared Israel Folau’s religious beliefs as well as many members of the wider community who didn’t agree with the Wallaby but were appalled that he was sacked for expressing those beliefs.
Update:
Tennis great Martina Navratilova has unofficially renamed Margaret Court Arena, launching an extraordinary on-court protest against the controversial Grand Slam record holder.https://t.co/GsDe1OIURm
— Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) January 28, 2020
One wonders did John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova consult Evonne Goolagong Cawley before they used her name in their childish stunt?
This is what Goolagong Cawley said about Court in 2017: “Margaret’s my hero … great player, wonderful champion and true professional in every way.”