Martina Navratilova: Australia’s Margaret Court Arena is named after ‘a racist and a homophobe’

Martina Navratilova wants the name of a tennis facility in Australia changed because it is named after “a racist and a homophobe.�

In an open letter to Margaret Court Arena, a Melbourne Park venue that hosts many matches during the Australian Open, Navratilova responded to recent and past remarks by Court, a 74-year-old Australian tennis legend who won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles in the 1960s and 1970s and is now a Christian pastor.

“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,� Navratilova wrote in the letter published Thursday by the Sydney Morning Herald. “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 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.�

Margaret Court Arena is the third-largest stadium used during the Australian Open. It was renamed to honor Court in 2003.

Last week Court wrote in a letter published in The West Australian newspaper that she would stop flying Qantas airline “where possible� because it “has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage.�

And in an interview with Vision Christian Radio on Wednesday, Court made several controversial statements about the LGBTQ community, including this one about children identifying as transgender: “That’s all the devil. But that’s what Hitler did and that’s what communism did -- got the minds of the children. And there’s a whole plot in our nation, and in the nations of the world to get the minds of the children.�

Court also offered the view that she is not actually against the LGBTQ community. “We’re here to help them overcome,� she said, “we’re not against the people.�

Earlier this week at the French Open, Andy Murray and Samantha Stosur were among some players who spoke out against Court’s comments about same-sex marriage.

“I think everyone can have their opinion. I don’t agree with it,� Stosur said. “But I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we all get down to the Australian Open next year — and who wants to play on Margaret Court Arena and who doesn’t. And we’ll go from there.�

Navratilova’s idea would seemingly save the event from any threat of a boycott in response to Court’s comments.

“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,� Navratilova said in her letter to the arena. “Which is why I think it’s time to change your name.�

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