With the Australian Tennis Open due to start, the row over the naming of the 'Margaret Court Arena' has erupted again. This time, it's Billie Jean King who seems to have got her knickers in a twist.
Margaret Court, or Smith as she was originally, was the greatest woman player of her generation and certainly one of the best in history. She also happens to be a committed Christian with strong views that arouse anger amongst some others in the tennis fraternity, particularly the lesbian contingent of which Mrs King (note the 'Mrs' as she was originally 'Miss Moffit') is a leading member. Mrs King and her like-minded friends want the name of the arena to be changed because of Mrs Court's views and comments that she has made in recent times.
Mrs Court is as entitled to her views as is Mrs King, Miss Navratilova or any of the other players who have competed over the years. Mrs Court has not said anything that is actually incorrect though some may have found her words uncomfortable. Women's tennis certainly seems to have had more than its fair share of lesbians over the years, perhaps a consequence of aggressive physical sports being more suited to that particular mind-set, although it hasn't stopped plenty of heterosexual women from rising to the top as well. In saying that tennis is "full of lesbians" Mrs Court has done no more than voice an opinion which seems to be at least partly supported by the facts.
Mrs King is also upset by comments to the effect that transgender children "were the work of the devil". While Mrs Court's words may have been intemperate, few can deny that there is something uncomfortable about the whole notion of 2 men or 2 women someone conspiring to produce a child. I see it as the misguided work of scientists, Mrs Court sees it as the work of the devil; neither of us see it as natural. As a Christian pastor, Mrs Court believes in the Christian Bible and its teachings and she made her comments in an interview on a Christian radio station. She did not make a great public pronouncement on a major television station, in a mass circulation newspaper nor at Hyde Park Corner or on the steps of Sydney Opera House. However, her critics have done just that by making a huge public fuss about the issue.
The organisers of the Australian Open are apparently very anxious to emphasise that their tournament is "Open4All" in an effort to promote equality, diversity and inclusion, whatever those buzz words actually mean. However, if they are to be true to the spirit of their initiative, they can have no truck with Mrs King's complaints; their words make it clear that all people and all points of view are to be accommodated, and that includes points of view with which some may disagree or even find distasteful.
Margaret Court and Billie Jean King will both be remembered as great tennis players who enjoyed many great battles together; whatever views they hold on matters outside of tennis will be forgotten long before their sporting prowess. We are in the realm of 'sticks and stones' and Mrs King should just shut up and let the tennis records speak for themselves. A few words here and there don't really matter.
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