‘Linking LGBT to Nazis, the devil? This is not OK’
and compared the efforts to teach children about gender fluidity to the methods of Nazism and communism.
“You can think, ‘Oh, I’m a boy,’ and it will affect your emotions and feelings and everything else,” Court said. “So, that’s all the devil — that’s what Hitler did and that’s what communism did: got the mind of the children. It’s a whole plot in our nation, and in the nations of the world, to get the minds of the children.”
Court has found a powerful ally atop Australian government in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Asked about the controversy in an interview with the Australian radio network 3AW, he came out against any change to the tennis stadium’s name.
“Whatever people may think about Margaret Court’s views about gay marriage — and she’s entitled to have them and she’s entitled to fly on whatever airline she likes or not — you know, she is one of the all-time greats,” Turnbull said. “The Margaret Court Arena celebrates Margaret Court the tennis player.”
Court, who played from 1960 to 1977, won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, one more than Serena Williams. Court’s record of 62 major titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles is unlikely to be broken.
But the criticism of Court and support for renaming the arena among current players has magnified compared to her previous flash points.
world number one Martina Navratilova has called for Margaret Court Arena to be renamed after penning an open letter in outrage of the 24-time grand slam champion’s views on same-sex marriage. Martina Navratilova, who is openly gay, has described Court as “a racist and a homophobe” and wants her name off one of the Australian Open’s flagship stadiums.
In a letter published by the Sydney Morning Herald, Navratilova wrote: “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 alltime greats. I had long ago forgiven Court for her headlinegrabbing 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 samesex marriage, which basically means support for the LGBT community in general. That was bad enough.
That’s all the devil — that’s what Hitler did: got the mind of the children. It’s a whole plot in our nation and in the nations of the world to get the minds of children. Because I think if you’re in that kind of position, maybe some players, they don’t feel so comfortable playing in a stadium named after Margaret Court