Australian tennis great Margaret Court boycotts Qantas over gay marriage

[VogueMusic]

2 hours ago, acko said:

When Human rights are subject to someone's 'beliefs'...sigh

Say it again. 

[Rugbyguy]

T W A T

[MadFan]

An irrelevant arena next to Rod Laver.  Next!

[Junior]

I love the pic they selected for the article 

https://www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2017/9/19/margaret-court-if-marriage-equality-passes-australia-there-will-be-no-christmas

Margaret Court: If Marriage Equality Passes in Australia 'There Will Be No Christmas'

The tennis champ famous for her anti-LGBT views says same-sex marriage will destroy allmajor holidays.

BY TRACY E. GILCHRIST

SEPTEMBER 19 2017 4:03 PM EDT

Australian tennis champ Margaret Court is doubling down against marriage equality in Australia, saying that proponents of equality are seeking to destroy marriage and all major holidays in the country. 

“They want marriage because they want to destroy it,” said Court, now a Pentecostal minister. “There will be no Mother’s Day, there will be no Father’s Day, there will be no Easter, there will be no Christmas.” 

Australian tennis champ Margaret Court is doubling down against marriage equality in Australia, saying that proponents of equality are seeking to destroy marriage and all major holidays in the country. 

“They want marriage because they want to destroy it,” said Court, now a Pentecostal minister. “There will be no Mother’s Day, there will be no Father’s Day, there will be no Easter, there will be no Christmas.” 

A tennis champion with 64 Grand Slam Title wins to her name, Court made her most recent anti-LGBT remarks after being ousted as patron of the Cottesloe Tennis Club in Perth, which she said was motivated because of her views on marriage equality. She called the move by the tennis club politically motivated and suggested that the actions of the club reflected a left-leaning agenda that impinged on her freedom of speech, according to The West Australian. 

“I think it’s sad. You don’t have the freedom of speech today to really defend yourself,” Court said.  “It’s a sad day for our nation when it comes to that.”

To be fair, the president of the tennis club, Ian Hutton, confirmed that her views were discussed as part of the patron election process, as her extreme anti-LGBT stance may have prohibited her from attending certain events at the club. Chief executive of Tennis West Michael Roberts agreed that her views likely played a role. 

“If you’ve got an opinion that’s very polarizing, when you’re so firmly supportive or against something, then it’s going to have an impact on how you’re perceived in the community,” he told The West Australian. 

Australians currently have until November 7 to mail in a vote on whether they are for or against marriage equality, before Parliament votes on the issue. The results are of the mail-in vote are nonbinding, as Parliament will ultimately decide the fate of LGBT Australians. However, the mail-in ballot has inspired anti-LGBT groups to create harmful campaigns claiming that gay people are pedophiles and that marriage equality would lead to boys wearing dresses in school. 

Court’s failure to be reelected as a patron to the Perth club prompted her to further comment on her perceived victimization even as same-sex couples in Australia are not recognized equally under the law there. 

“I sense at the moment you can put a Yes [to marriage] sign in the window, everything’s all right, but if you put a No sign you get a brick through your window,” Court said. “We already have 36,000 gay couples in this nation, that’s not a lot of people when you think about the 25 million. They already have civil union [sic].”

Earlier this year, another tennis great — out star Martina Navratilova — wrote an open letter to the The Sydney Morning Herald urging the operators of the Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena, which hosts the Australian Open, to change the name. Billie Jean King, another lesbian tennis star, weighed in and said that Court’s remarks about LGBT people have been “hurtful” but that she did not believe the arena name should be changed. 

Four months prior to King’s famous "Battle of the Sexes" 1973 match, in which she trounced Bobby Riggs, Court played the famed chauvinist and lost miserably in what has been dubbed "The Mother’s Day Massacre." At an event in Los Angeles early this summer, Jessica McNamee, who plays Court in the upcoming film Battle of the Sexes, spoke with The Advocate about the controversy surrounding the real person she portrayed in the film.  

"As far as changing the name of the court … I actually spoke to Billie Jean King recently. I guess I mimic her sentiment in that [Court] has a right to freedom of speech, and I don’t necessarily think that the name needs to be changed,” McNamee said. “Essentially, you know she was awarded that exclusively for her tennis, you can’t deny that she was the best female tennis player of her time. But yeah, I definitely have strongly different beliefs than her."

[horn]

On ‎22‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 6:15 AM, Hector said:

I love the pic they selected for the article 

https://www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2017/9/19/margaret-court-if-marriage-equality-passes-australia-there-will-be-no-christmas

Margaret Court: If Marriage Equality Passes in Australia 'There Will Be No Christmas'

The tennis champ famous for her anti-LGBT views says same-sex marriage will destroy allmajor holidays.

BY TRACY E. GILCHRIST

SEPTEMBER 19 2017 4:03 PM EDT

[VogueMusic]

Sam old "freedom of speech/religious liberty" talking points...hmmmm, wonder where she got that from...

[Jazzy Jan]

43 minutes ago, VogueMusic said:

Sam old "freedom of speech/religious liberty" talking points...hmmmm, wonder where she got that from...

It is so annoying.  This campaign has depressed me so much.  The way certain media and people have defended her for saying hateful, bigoted things that belong in the dark ages on top of her wanting to deny people equal rights.  Clapping that it is her right to want to discriminate against others and instead worrying about her being criticised.  What kind of logic is that ? 

[VogueMusic]

1 hour ago, Jazzy Jan said:

It is so annoying.  This campaign has depressed me so much.  The way certain media and people have defended her for saying hateful, bigoted things that belong in the dark ages on top of her wanting to deny people equal rights.  Clapping that it is her right to want to discriminate against others and instead worrying about her being criticised.  What kind of logic is that ? 

The logic of neofascists, hypocrites...and even more concerning, all their casual enablers.

[horn]

11 hours ago, Hector said:

 

Has she killed herself yet?  

[Junior]

 

[Jazzy Jan]

Margaret Cout has boycotted the Australian open this year to go on a "crabbing Holiday"  Billie Jean King is in Australia bring honoured as an Australian Open legend and when asked if Margaret Court Arena should be renamed, she said it should due to Margaret's hateful bigoted comments.  She said she would like to discuss Margaret's comments with her but Margaret instead got huffy, boycotted the open and instead went crabbing. 

[Jazzy Jan]

Anna Wintour slams Margaret Court, Scott Morrison over LGBTQ rights

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour served up a fierce speech at an Australian Open event Thursday, when she joined calls for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed because of the tennis legend's views on homosexuality.

 

"I find that it is inconsistent with the sport for Margaret Court's name to be on a stadium that does so much to bring all people together across their differences," Wintour said in her keynote speech at the Australian Open's Inspirational Series in Melbourne on Thursday.

 

The Margaret Court Arena, home of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, was named after Court in 2003, honoring her as one of the most successful players of all time, having notched a record-breaking 24 major titles in a career that spanned the 1960s and 70s.

 

Court, now a Pentecostal pastor in Western Australia, has come under heavy criticism for her anti-LGBTQ comments.

In May 2017, she said she would boycott Qantas Airlines for its decision to support same-sex marriage. "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 *," Court said in an open letter published in The Western Australian.

 

Not long after, Court claimed that tennis was "full of lesbians" while speaking to Vision Christian Radio.

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

 

In response to her comments, tennis star Martina Navratilova urged Tennis Australia to take action by renaming the Margaret Court Arena, calling Court a "racist and a homophobe."

US tennis legend Billie Jean King has also called for the 7,500-seat arena to be renamed. "I was fine until she said lately so many derogatory things about my community. I'm a gay woman ... that really went deep in my heart and soul," King said.

Speaking in Melbourne on Thursday, Wintour, who has helmed the iconic fashion magazine since 1988, said that "intolerance has no place in tennis."

 

"Margaret Court was a champion on the court but a meeting point for players of all nations, preferences, and backgrounds should celebrate somebody who was a champion off the court as well," she said.

 

Wintour also criticized Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had proposed amending a law that would allow religious schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students. The proposal was later abandoned.

 

"I have been alarmed by your prime minister's record on LGBTQ rights, which seems backward in all senses," she said, according to CNN affiliate Nine News.

 

[Creepy Insane Person]

What she this much of a lunatic in the 90s

and early 2000s to?

[Anselme_Cristian]

Ms. Margaret Court has every God-breathed right to speak out against the practice and tolerance of homosexuality. Just as anyone whom God has rescued from the tyrannical shackles of this world of other demonic immoralities (homosexuality, rape, murder, slander/persecution, adultery/covetousness, pornography,  pedophilia, violence, anger,  gender confusion, stress, hate, irrationality) w/ brackish sea of other evils. 

Those of you quick to besmirch her; what do you expect for her to do? Keep her God-nurtured insight to herself? Become tolerant; keeping her thoughts squared away in her home between her and The Almighty? Would you like to put forth a law titled "The Separation Of Church & Sports?"

There's this exasperate notion that those who are religious are transformed by an Infinite Spirit. Such a thought couldn't be more  a fallacy. Religion at it's core is a set of rules and laws. Thou shalt do a, b and c. Those whom the Redeemer rescues from the contumacious mildew of sin; takes on the totality of Jesus. Which means (in time) He renews the feeble mind of men/women; in which he/she's old perspective(s) become washed away. You become a new creature in Him. Yes physically we are still prone to corruption being fleshly beings. Yet in spirit we are Glory be to Him a new creation. Again the Supreme Being requisites for those who seek Him to embark on a trans-formative relationship which can only be furnished through His Book Of Life. 

Knowing Him ought to unleash the free exercise thereof; not just riped in love; constituted in truth. There is no bigotry, narrow-mindedness or hate  for those who are maladjusted to all sin in Christ Jesus. 

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Anselme_Cristian

[MadFan]

@Magician 

Please!

[VogueMusic]

51 minutes ago, Anselme_Cristian said:

Ms. Margaret Court has every God-breathed right to speak out against the practice and tolerance of homosexuality. Just as anyone whom God has rescued from the tyrannical shackles of this world of other demonic injustices (homosexuality, rape, murder, slander/persecution, adultery/covetousness pedophilia, violence, anger, confusion, stress, hate, irrationality) w/ brackish sea of other evils. 

Those of you quick to besmirch her; what do you expect for her to do? Keep her God-nurtured insight to herself? Become tolerant; keeping her thoughts squared away in her home between her and The Almighty? Would you like to put forth a law titled "The Separation Of Church & Sports?"

There's this exasperate notion that those who are religious are transformed by an Infinite Spirit. Such a thought couldn't be more  a fallacy. Religion at it's core is a set of rules and laws. Thou shalt do a, b and c. Those whom the Redeemer rescues from the contumacious mildew of sin; takes on the totality of Jesus. Which means (in time) He renews the feeble mind of men/women; in which he/she's old perspective(s) become washed away. You become a new creature in Him. Yes physically we are still prone to corruption being fleshly beings. Yet in spirit we are Glory be to Him a new creation. Again the Supreme Being requisites for those who seek Him to embark on a trans-formative relationship which can only be furnished through His Book Of Life. 

Knowing Him ought to unleash the free exercise thereof; not just riped in love; constituted in truth. There is no bigotry, narrow-mindedness or hate  for those who are maladjusted to all sin in Christ Jesus. 

 

 

 

You do realize you're on a Madonna fan board, right...?

[SheldonCooper]

I remember those Steffi/Andre remarks they were terribly classless.  

 

Sidenote: Steffi’s career and 22 slams are far more impressive to me. She retired at 29. The last 6-7 years womens tennis has declined with the lack of true champions. Nothing against Serena the depth is better these days but the champions are fewer. The top 10 don’t regularly make the latter rounds like the men do.   

[ULIZOS]

On 2/1/2019 at 7:20 PM, Anselme_Cristian said:

Ms. Margaret Court has every God-breathed right to speak out against the practice and tolerance of homosexuality. Just as anyone whom God has rescued from the tyrannical shackles of this world of other demonic immoralities (homosexuality, rape, murder, slander/persecution, adultery/covetousness, pornography,  pedophilia, violence, anger,  gender confusion, stress, hate, irrationality) w/ brackish sea of other evils. 

Those of you quick to besmirch her; what do you expect for her to do? Keep her God-nurtured insight to herself? Become tolerant; keeping her thoughts squared away in her home between her and The Almighty? Would you like to put forth a law titled "The Separation Of Church & Sports?"

There's this exasperate notion that those who are religious are transformed by an Infinite Spirit. Such a thought couldn't be more  a fallacy. Religion at it's core is a set of rules and laws. Thou shalt do a, b and c. Those whom the Redeemer rescues from the contumacious mildew of sin; takes on the totality of Jesus. Which means (in time) He renews the feeble mind of men/women; in which he/she's old perspective(s) become washed away. You become a new creature in Him. Yes physically we are still prone to corruption being fleshly beings. Yet in spirit we are Glory be to Him a new creation. Again the Supreme Being requisites for those who seek Him to embark on a trans-formative relationship which can only be furnished through His Book Of Life. 

Knowing Him ought to unleash the free exercise thereof; not just riped in love; constituted in truth. There is no bigotry, narrow-mindedness or hate  for those who are maladjusted to all sin in Christ Jesus. 

 

 

[Genevieve Vavance]

 

[VogueMusic]

How is that person not flushed yet?

[runa]

3 hours ago, VogueMusic said:

How is that person not flushed yet?

Because we're always good for a fun ride when he's around,

 

[TearsInHeaven]

he is a troll. in the past we would keep several trolls for amusement and laugh at their weird posts.

[Junior]

https://7news.com.au/sport/tennis/margaret-court-reignites-debate-on-her-legacy-ahead-of-50th-anniversary-of-grand-slam-c-544531

Margaret Court reignites debate on her legacy ahead of 50th anniversary of grand slam

Wednesday, 6 November 2019 11:07 pm

Margaret Court has vowed not to return to the Australian Open if Tennis Australia does not want to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her calendar-year grand slam.

The presence of her name on the tournament's No.2 court continues to divide the sport, two years after she opposed same-sex marriage.

Court's views have been condemned by a number of former tennis players, including contemporary Billie Jean King, while the threat of current players boycotting matches on Margaret Court Arena has thus far failed to materialise.

But as the 2020 tournament nears, Tennis Australia has yet to decide whether or how to commemorate the anniversary of her 1970 grand slam.

Court, who has not been to the Australian Open since 2017, believes the organisation is dodging what she acknowledges would become a controversial decision to honour her.

"I think Tennis Australia should sit and talk with me," Court told The Age.

"They have never phoned me. Nobody has spoken to me directly about it. I think they would rather not confront it."

Having watched all four majors celebrate compatriot Rod Laver this year, 50 years after his 1969 grand slam, Court will choose not to attend if she does not receive a call.

"They brought Rod in from America. If they think I'm just going to turn up, I don't think that is right. I think I should be invited," she said.

"I would hope they would pay my way to come like they paid for his, and honour me. If they are not going to do that, I don't really want to come."

Tennis Australia told the newspaper they "recognise the tennis achievements of Margaret Court, although her views do not align with our values of equality, diversity and inclusion".

Court's achievements – particularly her 24 grand slam titles – gained renewed attention after American superstar Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open, her 23rd major, to hold the outright Open Era record.

Williams, who has lost four grand slam finals in the past two years, is determined to pass Court for the all-time record.

Name change debate

Long-time Vogue editor Anna Wintour reignited the furore over the Margaret Court Arena name in January.

Wintour used a speech at an Australian Open event to call on Tennis Australia to rename the stadium for the second time in 16 years.

"It is inconsistent for the sport for Margaret Court's name to be on a stadium that does so much to bring all people together across their differences," the journalist said.

"This much I think is clear to anyone who understands the spirit and the joy of the game. Intolerance has no place in tennis.

"What we love (is) watching these remarkable men and women exceed themselves while being themselves in many different forms.

"Margaret Court was a champion on the court but a meeting point for players of all nations, preferences, and backgrounds should celebrate somebody who was a champion off the court as well."

Court said at the time her beliefs should not affect a legacy forged on the court.

"All is said is what the * said. I have nothing against homosexual people. If they choose to be gay, that's fine," she said.

"I have them in my church – they come every Sunday. They've been doing the flowers in the church for 14 years, and they're my biggest fans. I should be able to have my say as a minister of the Gospel. I believe I shouldn't be bullied for what I did in my past."

[swimtoshore]

4 hours ago, I Don’t Search I Find said:

https://7news.com.au/sport/tennis/margaret-court-reignites-debate-on-her-legacy-ahead-of-50th-anniversary-of-grand-slam-c-544531

Margaret Court reignites debate on her legacy ahead of 50th anniversary of grand slam

Wednesday, 6 November 2019 11:07 pm

Margaret Court has vowed not to return to the Australian Open if Tennis Australia does not want to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her calendar-year grand slam.

The presence of her name on the tournament's No.2 court continues to divide the sport, two years after she opposed same-sex marriage.

Court's views have been condemned by a number of former tennis players, including contemporary Billie Jean King, while the threat of current players boycotting matches on Margaret Court Arena has thus far failed to materialise.

But as the 2020 tournament nears, Tennis Australia has yet to decide whether or how to commemorate the anniversary of her 1970 grand slam.

Court, who has not been to the Australian Open since 2017, believes the organisation is dodging what she acknowledges would become a controversial decision to honour her.

"I think Tennis Australia should sit and talk with me," Court told The Age.

"They have never phoned me. Nobody has spoken to me directly about it. I think they would rather not confront it."

Having watched all four majors celebrate compatriot Rod Laver this year, 50 years after his 1969 grand slam, Court will choose not to attend if she does not receive a call.

"They brought Rod in from America. If they think I'm just going to turn up, I don't think that is right. I think I should be invited," she said.

"I would hope they would pay my way to come like they paid for his, and honour me. If they are not going to do that, I don't really want to come."

Tennis Australia told the newspaper they "recognise the tennis achievements of Margaret Court, although her views do not align with our values of equality, diversity and inclusion".

Court's achievements – particularly her 24 grand slam titles – gained renewed attention after American superstar Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open, her 23rd major, to hold the outright Open Era record.

Williams, who has lost four grand slam finals in the past two years, is determined to pass Court for the all-time record.

Name change debate

Long-time Vogue editor Anna Wintour reignited the furore over the Margaret Court Arena name in January.

Wintour used a speech at an Australian Open event to call on Tennis Australia to rename the stadium for the second time in 16 years.

"It is inconsistent for the sport for Margaret Court's name to be on a stadium that does so much to bring all people together across their differences," the journalist said.

"This much I think is clear to anyone who understands the spirit and the joy of the game. Intolerance has no place in tennis.

"What we love (is) watching these remarkable men and women exceed themselves while being themselves in many different forms.

"Margaret Court was a champion on the court but a meeting point for players of all nations, preferences, and backgrounds should celebrate somebody who was a champion off the court as well."

Court said at the time her beliefs should not affect a legacy forged on the court.

"All is said is what the * said. I have nothing against homosexual people. If they choose to be gay, that's fine," she said.

"I have them in my church – they come every Sunday. They've been doing the flowers in the church for 14 years, and they're my biggest fans. I should be able to have my say as a minister of the Gospel. I believe I shouldn't be bullied for what I did in my past."

Sit by the phone and wait for that call honey. i wouldn’t want you to miss it.....

MC has said so many vile homophobic things over the years, i would have NO problem with the Australian Open NOT honoring this 50 year anniversary.

[Barbie]

Just as she has the "right" to speak against gays we have the "right" to not celebrate her achievements regardless of where they took place. See how that works, Marg? Go fuck yourself.

[horn]

18 hours ago, swimtoshore said:

Sit by the phone and wait for that call honey. i wouldn’t want you to miss it.....

14 hours ago, Barbie said:

Just as she has the "right" to speak against gays we have the "right" to not celebrate her achievements regardless of where they took place. See how that works, Marg? Go fuck yourself.

 

[Barbie]

now the old lizard is threatening to boycott 

 

 

 

[Barbie]

[ThomasW]

I was gunna say "suck it!" but with that neck it looks like she's been sucking it for a long time already

[Barbie]

19 minutes ago, ThomasW said:

I was gunna say "suck it!" but with that neck it looks like she's been sucking it for a long time already

 

she does give a Brontosaurus tea. Maybe she really was there back then.