Margaret Court’s same-sex marriage boycott doesn’t change my view of her tennis

I don’t like Margaret Court’s views on homosexuality. But I do like the fact Tennis Australia has honoured her for her tennis, nothing else.

I don’t much like my first name ‘Margaret’ as it conjures up boarding house mistresses, school principals or dead people: think Margaret Thatcher, Princess Margaret (although I did love Margaret Whitlam)

But I won’t change my name because my wonderful parents chose it for me because they loved me.

I don’t like Margaret Court’s views on homosexuality. But I do like the fact Tennis Australia has honoured our greatest women’s champion, FOR her tennis and nothing else. They named that Arena after her because they loved her tennis — and many generations have and still do.

I have covered 12 Australian Opens, including last January’s event. I have also covered three Wimbledons and two French Opens. My mission is to get to Flushing Meadows one day soon.

Any honour roll you read in tennis, any memorabilia encased in glass cabinets or on walls, has Margaret Court’s name and image.

She’s there because she won all four majors in tennis — many times over. She and others like Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, Steffi Graf are recognised because of their forehands, backhands, volleys, and serves ... and not because of the colour of their skin, their sexuality, their religion, their diet, their star sign.

Rod Laver and Margaret Court during their playing days. Photo: Laver Family Private Collection

I too was raised in the Methodist Church, which morphed into the Uniting Church. There were strong views there too that marriage was male-female (how else could you have kids?) and ‘The Maker’ had issued instructions in the Bible on how to ‘run the human body’. Margaret Court keeps referring to these.

I never found those instructions particularly helpful. I did other parts of the Bible that talked about grace, kindness, selflessness, tolerance, ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’. I found most religions talked of these things. I also found people at school, university, and in my working life, that were the best exponents of all these traits and yet never had stepped inside a church, sung a hymn or listened to a sermon.

I also found plenty of people in the Uniting Church who, like me, got out and about in society and became best friends with gays, bisexual and transgender people. I also met plenty “church goers” who were LGBT and were accepted by their priests, reverends, pastors etc etc..

So while I meddle with my cold-sounding name ‘Margaret’ by asking people to call me ‘Marg’ or ‘Margie’ (my sisters call me Madge the Badge and Marge the Barge), I won’t be changing it because it’s me.

I doubt Margaret Court will change her views because it’s her.

And that is why free speech is important ... because it’s so hard when someone says something outrageous and cruel ... but you can speak up and give an opposite opinion.

The trick is not to ram it down anyone else’s throat — let them have their opposing view and then you turn and go your separate ways.

Good luck to Margaret Court. Her Arena, whenever I walk into it, still reminds me of her shot-making and not her shocking views.