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Australian tennis great Margaret Court boycotts Qantas over gay marriage


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Margaret Court is a bigoted ultra conservative religious nut who is always preaching against gay people.  There is now a push to change the name of Margaret Court Arena.  She is an embarrassment to Australia. 

Love this article from Peter FitzSimons

Margaret Court's anti-gay rights stance deserves a boycott of its own

 

The Margaret Court thing? Her comments that she refuses to fly Qantas anymore in protest at Qantas CEO's advocacy of same-sex marriage? Simply sad. She embarrasses herself. Her remarks are consistent with other homophobic comments she has made over the years - "To legitimize what God calls abominable sexual practices that include sodomy, reveals our ignorance as to the ills that come when society is forced to accept law that violates their very own God-given nature," – and no great surprise.

"I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same sex marriage," Ms Court said in a letter to the editor published in The West Australian on Thursday. "I believe in marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the *. Your statement leaves me no option but to use other airlines where possible for my extensive travelling."

Given Virgin Australia also is a promoter of Same Sex Marriage, that leaves her pretty grounded as far as I can see, which is to the good. (Still, can someone check if Greyhound Buses have a policy on this? I'll bet they are in the 21st century, too, so Ms Court might have to ban them, too?)

Meantime, though, what I'd love her to explain is how it is, if her God is so firmly against gays, why he made them in the first place? And if you're citing the *, can you answer Dom Knight's question and explain why YOU, as a Pastor, get an exemption from 1 Timothy 2: "I do not permit a woman to teach?" Or is it OK to ignore bits that apply to you?

And yes, yes, yes of course it is Ms Court's "right" to express those views. But it is equally our right to blow loud raspberries in her general direction. And one of the twitterati Phil Branagan, made an interesting point: "Using the same logic, Ms Court will surely understand if one was to boycott the stadium named in her honour due to her social intolerance . . ."

Tennis is an inclusive game, and ever more inclusive in the 21st century. Does Melbourne Park really want to have an arena named after someone who stands so firmly against such inclusiveness, who is becoming a byword for bigot?

Personally, I know of no finer person, no more generous and inclusive than Evonne Goolagong-Cawley. I run into her about once a year in airports around Australia and she is always on her way to do something to help someone. How bout the Evonne Goolagong Arena, as a name that tennis can be proud to put up in lights?

 

 
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Also, Alan Joyce had to put up with getting a lemon meringue pie in his face from a disgusting religious anti gay marriage nut.  Alan is openly gay and the CEO of Qantas.   Even though the over whelming majority of Australians want marriage equality, there is far too much attention given to the noisy ultra conservative religious right.  Also, our right wing religious head writer for Murdoch's Melbourne Herald Scum paper - Andrew Bolt - said that the pie in the face was wrong but wants Alan Joyce to campaign for freedom of speech for Christian anti marriage campaigners. :wacko: They truly make me ashamed to be Australian.  We are lagging behind all other Western countries because this noisy minority has too much power in parliament and Murdoch's press always defend them. 

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I absolutely LOATHE the way these "Christians" try to soften their bigotry with "love the sinner, hate the sin" or "but I love all people".  No bitch, you don't.

As disgusting as it is, own your bigotry. Stop white-washing it in flowery platitudes and soft words. We can see right through that self-righteous bullshit. Always have.

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She is at it again. :wacko:

Margaret Court’s Christian radio rant on lesbians in tennis and transgender children

 

FORMER tennis champion Margaret Court has told a Christian radio station that “tennis is full of lesbians” and transgender children are influenced by the Devil and are part of a mind control plot as seen in Nazi Germany.

The 74-year-old told 20Twenty Vision Christian Radio program that transgender or binary children were just the product of bullying and parents who “don’t care”.

“But with the literature, the bullying, the stuff that’s put out today into children’s minds, I tell you what, if you haven’t got parents who bring you up that way and you’ve got parents that don’t care and you’re hurt and offended in somebody saying something to you,” she said.

I tell you, a child can just start to think ‘well, maybe I am a girl’ when they’re a boy or and maybe I’m a boy and I’m a girl

“Your thoughts — even medically they’re knowing now — the mind is a battlefield and that’s why I wrote that book Train Your Brain because the mind is, it’s all in the Bibl*e.

“God’s got so much in there about the mind how it affects us, affects our emotions, our feelings, you can think ‘oh I’m a boy’ and it’ll affect your emotions and feelings, and everything else and so that’s all the Devil.

“That’s what Hitler did, that’s what Communism did — got the mind of the children. And it’s a whole plot in our nation and in the nations of the world to get the minds of the children.”

In the interview with Neil Johnson, Ms Court also said “tennis is full of lesbians”.

“I mean, tennis is full of lesbians because even when I was playing there was only a couple there but those couple that lead that took young ones into parties and things.

 

“And because they liked to be around heroes and what you get at the top is often what you will get right through that sport,” she said.

Ms Court claimed she was “bullied” by the media after her calls for a boycott of Qantas — because of its support of gay marriage — was widely condemned.

In the radio interview, Ms Court also claimed that gay men in her church wanted to stop young men being gay.

“They are also trying also to protect young people from going this way because they know that it will destroy their lives.”

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14 hours ago, Jazzy Jan said:

She is at it again. :wacko:

Margaret Court’s Christian radio rant on lesbians in tennis and transgender children

 

FORMER tennis champion Margaret Court has told a Christian radio station that “tennis is full of lesbians” and transgender children are influenced by the Devil and are part of a mind control plot as seen in Nazi Germany.

The 74-year-old told 20Twenty Vision Christian Radio program that transgender or binary children were just the product of bullying and parents who “don’t care”.

“But with the literature, the bullying, the stuff that’s put out today into children’s minds, I tell you what, if you haven’t got parents who bring you up that way and you’ve got parents that don’t care and you’re hurt and offended in somebody saying something to you,” she said.

I tell you, a child can just start to think ‘well, maybe I am a girl’ when they’re a boy or and maybe I’m a boy and I’m a girl

“Your thoughts — even medically they’re knowing now — the mind is a battlefield and that’s why I wrote that book Train Your Brain because the mind is, it’s all in the Bibl*e.

“God’s got so much in there about the mind how it affects us, affects our emotions, our feelings, you can think ‘oh I’m a boy’ and it’ll affect your emotions and feelings, and everything else and so that’s all the Devil.

“That’s what Hitler did, that’s what Communism did — got the mind of the children. And it’s a whole plot in our nation and in the nations of the world to get the minds of the children.”

In the interview with Neil Johnson, Ms Court also said “tennis is full of lesbians”.

“I mean, tennis is full of lesbians because even when I was playing there was only a couple there but those couple that lead that took young ones into parties and things.

 

“And because they liked to be around heroes and what you get at the top is often what you will get right through that sport,” she said.

Ms Court claimed she was “bullied” by the media after her calls for a boycott of Qantas — because of its support of gay marriage — was widely condemned.

In the radio interview, Ms Court also claimed that gay men in her church wanted to stop young men being gay.

“They are also trying also to protect young people from going this way because they know that it will destroy their lives.”

Rupaul_slap.gif

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An open letter from Martina Navratilova to Margaret Court Arena

Dear Margaret Court Arena,

Sporting venues named for athletes, or any place, really, named for whoever, are so named for one reason. That reason is their whole body of work. In other words, it is not just for what this person did on the field, on the court, in politics, arts or science, for instance, but also for who they are as human beings.

When you were named after Margaret Court, it seemed like the right thing to do. After all, Rod Laver already had the big stadium and Court is one of the all-time greats. I had long ago forgiven Court for her headline-grabbing comments in 1990 when she said I was a bad role model because I was a lesbian.

What I did not know about until now were the unabashed racist statements she made in the '70s about apartheid in South Africa. Saying that South Africa dealt with the "situation" (meaning people of colour) much better than anywhere else in the world, particularly the US: what exactly did she mean by that?

 

Fast forward to today and Court's announcement of her boycott of Qantas because of its chief executive's support of same-sex marriage, which basically means support for the LGBT community in general. That was bad enough. Now she is doubling down with her ridiculous comments about older women luring young girls on the tour to parties to turn them into lesbians. It's a good thing she didn't name anyone as I am pretty sure she would be sued for defamation.

It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe. 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 demonising trans kids and trans adults everywhere.

And now, linking LGBT to Nazis, communists, the devil? This is not OK. This is in fact sick and it is dangerous. Kids will suffer more because of this continuous bashing and stigmatising of our LGBT community.

How much blood will be on Margaret's hands because kids will continue to get beaten for being different? This is not OK. Too many will die by suicide because of this kind of intolerance, this kind of bashing and yes, this kind of bullying. This is not OK.

We celebrate free speech, but that doesn't mean it is free of consequences - not punishment, but consequences.

We should not be celebrating this kind of behaviour, this kind of philosophy. The platform people like Margaret Court use needs to be made smaller, not bigger.

Which is why I think it's time to change your name. And I think the Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it. Now there is a person we can all celebrate. On every level.

Yours,

Martina Navratilova

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36 minutes ago, acko said:

What a whore. Is she Mel Gibsons cousin?

 

She reminds me of him !  Mel Gibson's father Hutton is one of the biggest nut jobs around.  He is a holocaust denier, is anti gay and his racist rants against Jews are deplorable. He thinks they were not killed but simply "moved"  to other countries during the second world war and concentration camps were simply work camps with no killings.  He also hates gay people and continually sprouts his conspiracy theories all the time.  He is actually American and all Australians breathe a sigh of relief about that - we don't have to lay claim to Hutton like we do to horrible Margaret.   I always laugh when people excused Mel for his anti Jewish and anti gay rants when drunk.  He was saying what his father was preaching and saying for years.  I believe that they are also his beliefs because people tend to often speak what they think when they are drunk. 

 

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I don't understand how these people can be so hateful ? I mean,  based on what? What's the point? Live and let live.

The main reason this world is so fucked up is religion. :wacko:

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Stay mad bitch :newspaper:

Deluded Bigot Margaret Court Sees ‘Conspiracy’ Against Her by ‘US Gay Lobby’

by Luis Damian Veron
June 2, 2017 | 8:30am

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Former tennis great turned anti-LGBTQ crank Margaret Court has been in rare form lately, but not the kind that brought her 24 singles Grand Slam titles. The 74-year-old Australian has now accused the “US gay lobby” of orchestrating talk of renaming the arena that bears her name in Melbourne Park, home to the Australian Open.

In actuality, fellow tennis players and luminaries such as current men’s top player Andy Murray and Martina Navratilova have registered their disapproval of Court’s outbursts in the wake of her professed boycott against major airline Qantas due its support for marriage equality. Navratilova explicitly called for the arena to be renamed, saying, “Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights.” Court has since further complained that tennis is “full of lesbians” and lamented transgender children, part of a pattern that has also previously included her expressed view that same-sex marriage is “abominable.”

The latest remarks have come in radio interviews and given their accusatory nature seem likely to stir more criticism. The BBC reports:

Regarding calls for the stadium in her honor to be renamed, she said: “I think I’ve won more Grand Slams than any man or woman and if it is [renamed], I don’t believe I deserve it.

“They could probably get 100,000 petitions in 24 hours because that’s how they work. There’s a lot of money behind it, and it’s coming from America.”

And asked about a possible conspiracy, she added: “Yes, I believe there is… I think the [gay] lobby, yeah.”

Tennis Australia and the operator of the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne and Olympic Parks, have distanced themselves from Court’s views on gay marriage. There are currently no plans to rename the venue.

Despite her puzzling finger-pointing abroad, it is her compatriots who have instead pushed back against her remarks. Australian players Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua, who each picked up the singles and doubles titles respectively at a tournament in Strasbourg last weekend and are currently playing in the French Open, each found time to take Court to task, with Stosur warning a player boycott of Margaret Court Arena might ensue at the next Australian Open, while Tennis Australia rushed to put out a statement to distance themselves from Court.

Major Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Heraldalso ran a column stating that Court herself should be boycotted.

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Get the name of that arena changed now! (not that I'd ever heard of this local act before) Imagine having the name of a geriatric bigot representing a great city like Melbourne!

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So glad great sport legends like Martina and John are speaking out against this disgusting woman!

As a huge tennis fan, i hope they change the arena's name before the 2018 open.

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:lmao: Cop that Margaret !   Some legend hacked into Google maps and changed Margaret Court Arena to Evonne Goolagong Arena 

Margaret Court Arena has been renamed on Google Maps.

Google Maps ‘renames’ Margaret Court Arena after tennis controversy

MARGARET Court Arena in Melbourne has been renamed on Google Maps following the tennis star’s controversial comments about gay people.

The stadium now appears as “Evonne Goolagong Arena” in some searches, after Martina Navratilova suggested it was given the name of the alternative Australian great.

American player Navratilova, who is gay herself, lashed out at the 74-year-old church pastor’s “sick and dangerous” comments on gay people in tennis and transgender children.

If you search for Richmond, Victoria in Google Maps the arena comes up as Evonne Goolagong Arena. But it still shows as Margaret Court Arena if you search for the original name.

The arena was originally called Show Court One when it opened in 1988, but was renamed after Court in 2003 as a tribute to Australia’s most successful female tennis player.

Court’s statements have been widely criticised and prompted calls to rename the arena used in the Australian Open, or even boycott the venue at next year’s Grand Slam.

A spokeswoman for Google told news.com.au the change was not made by the company. “The various types of data found in Google Maps come from a wide range of sources, including third-party providers, public sources, and user contributions,” she said.

“This provides a very comprehensive and up-to-date map experience, but we recognise that there may be occasional inaccuracies that could arise from any of those sources. Users who see an error or missing place on Google Maps can use the ‘Report a Problem’ tool, found at the bottom right corner of the map.”

Court initially drew fire for saying she would avoid Australian airline Qantas for its support of same-sex marriage. She later claimed tennis was “full of lesbians”.

She remained defiant after the criticism, saying renaming the stadium would be unfair and that she was being targeted by an American gay “lobby”.

Court said Navratilova “needs to sort out her own nation, not our nation”.

Tennis Australia and the operator of the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne and Olympic Parks, have distanced themselves from Court’s views on gay marriage.

 
 
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I remember she was not too impressed when Steffi Graf married Andre Agassi (she had some pretty nasty things to say about him) and that pretty much showed me her true colours.

24 grand slam singles titles or not bigots aren't welcome.

And can I say how disappointing it is that Tennis Australia is not taking action. For them to separate her tennis achievements from her comments makes no sense to me whatsoever??

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24 minutes ago, rekha said:

I remember she was not too impressed when Steffi Graf married Andre Agassi (she had some pretty nasty things to say about him) and that pretty much showed me her true colours.

24 grand slam singles titles or not bigots aren't welcome.

And can I say how disappointing it is that Tennis Australia is not taking action. For them to separate her tennis achievements from her comments makes no sense to me whatsoever??

Spineless! 

If or when the players boycott the court, I'm sure something will be done. 

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^  Hooray for Molly.  Having the guts to say what he knows is right. Sick to death of far too many Australians now being "bullied"  to defend Margaret Court from the Murdoch led conservative papers.  The papers are saying that they are bullying Margaret.  O'h, the irony.  The Project tv show had a go at her and then were criticised for not supporting her" freedom of choice"   Tina Arena who normally speaks her mind, was asked about the comedic push to call it "Tina Arena Arena"    She also was incredibly careful to say that she does not agree with Margaret but she should be able to speak her mind and that the name should not be changed.  Others that have spoken out against Margaret Court have been accused of "bullying her for her beliefs"  and being judgemental.   It is outrageous.  Margaret Court can be as judgemental and horrible as she likes and we all have to respect her ? .  

Seriously,  Have they read what Margaret said ?   Not only using old testament quotes to dismiss gay marriage etc but saying the gay people and transgender people are brainwashed by the devil and USA lobby groups.  The same woman who once defended South Africa by saying they "dealt with the situation" re apartheid.   She deserves no respect.  Sure she can have her freedom of speech, but having that freedom means people can also have the freedom to call her out for the hateful bigot she is. 

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Can't wait until Serena surpasses her slam count! Margaret is at 24. Serena at 23. She's on maternity leave now but she's coming for you, Margaret. Enjoy it now cunt. 

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On 11/6/2017 at 3:45 AM, rekha said:

I remember she was not too impressed when Steffi Graf married Andre Agassi (she had some pretty nasty things to say about him) and that pretty much showed me her true colours.

Margaret Court is vile

 

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