Former tennis great Margaret Court defends her slam on gays, lesbians
Jan 4, 2012, 1:33 PM EDT
AP The Australian Open begins on Jan. 16, and one of the venues is Margaret Court Arena, named for the 62-time Grand Slam champion (24 singles, 19 women’s doubles, 19 mixed). But there’s trouble brewin’. The venue, the third-largest at the Open, may be the site of protests by gay and lesbian activists who are angered at Court’s recent remarks on gay marriage and the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
In an interview on Tuesday, Court (far right in photo) defended her track record of controversial comments. Among those: in 1990, Court said that gay and bisexual players such as Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King were ruining tennis. And in Dec. of 2011, Court spoke out again against gay marriage. In an interview with the West Australian, Court said:
“To dismantle this sole definition of marriage and try 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 of what is right and what is wrong.”
Navratilova was not amused.
“Seems to me a lot of people have evolved, as has the Bible. Unfortunately, Margaret Court has not,” Navratilova told TennisChannel.com “Her myopic view is truly frightening as well as damaging to the thousands of children already living in same-gender families.”
On Tuesday, Court spoke with the New York Times, and was asked her reaction to rumors that there would be protests at the Australian Open over her remarks.
“Well, I think it’s very sad because I think they’ve taken it in the wrong way. I mean, I make a stand for both my biblical side, and what I believe. And I think — it’s a choice. And I think there’s young people today that need to know it’s a choice in life. And that was my side of it, bringing that forth. I’ve got nothing against the people themselves, I’ve always said that all the years I’ve been a minister.”
Court went on to say that she doesn’t hate gay people at all, and that she actually prays for them. Hate the sin and not the sinner? Kind of difficult when you’re throwing around terms like “abominable sexual practices” and “ills that violate their very own God-given nature of what is right and what is wrong.” And saying that gays are ruining tennis? Sounds like hate speech to me.
But then I’m not a Pentecostal minister, which Court became in the early 1990s. Let us pray for peace at the Australian Open.
H/T Andrew Bucholtz, Daniel Kaplan.
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Margaret Court defends her views on gay marriage [New York Times]
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- chrisgeraldvogel - Jan 4, 2012 at 6:19 PM
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I guess this must be like how racist whites don’t “hate” blacks, and anti-semites don’t “hate” jews. Typical of religious conservatives, though, to be so smug, sanctimonious, and oblivious to the concepts of honesty and reality. Does this mean that I don’t “hate” them, or loathsome little bigots like Margaret Court?
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- sasquash20 - Jan 4, 2012 at 7:47 PM
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everybody hates everybody.
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- hellfield - Jan 5, 2012 at 8:32 AM
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In the photo accompanying this article I absolutely LOVE that Steffi Graf is the buffer between Court, King and Navratilova!
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- tigersgeaux - Jan 5, 2012 at 10:04 AM
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Did Navratilova actually say the Bible has evolved? Don’t think it needs evolving. Either it was God’s Word in the beginning, and thus does not need to evolve (change) or it wasn’t. If it wasn’t there is no need to even bring it up because it is irrelevant. I would expect something that makes more sense from Navratilova.
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- californiarestinpeace - Jan 5, 2012 at 5:09 PM
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well is the earth flat as the bible aludes? no. is it really ok to stone adulterers? no.
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- goforthanddie - Jan 5, 2012 at 7:04 PM
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“God’s Word”, as decided by men who edited the Hell out of it.
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- wphood - Jan 5, 2012 at 2:36 PM
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@tigersgeaux:
“Did Navratilova actually say the Bible has evolved? Don’t think it needs evolving. Either it was God’s Word in the beginning, and thus does not need to evolve (change) or it wasn’t.”
Whether or not you think it needs evolving is beside the point. Any study of the Bible’s history will reveal that it *has* changed. Differences in interpretation and wording between versions are many. To state otherwise is to be either ignorant of the facts, or knowing the facts and choosing to ignore them.
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- rubbernilly - Jan 5, 2012 at 2:55 PM
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Agreed with wphood…
…to quote the biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman, “There are more discrepancies in the sources for the New Testament than there are words in the New Testament.”
Also, @tigersgeaux, if the bible is not God’s word, that does not necessarily mean it is worthless. There are still some good bits of wisdom in there. More to the point of what you were saying regarding Navritilova, if the bible is not God’s word, then it would be absolutely relevant to what she was saying. No matter what you call it, it has changed. Check out Ehrman’s book, “Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.”
God’s word or not, her point is a valid one.
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- pastorcp - Jan 5, 2012 at 4:54 PM
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Preach it Margaret! Someone’s got to say it. It is a choice and it’s a bad choice. The real danger is not saying it’s wrong but brainwashing young children into thinking that they’re born that way. Jesus is coming soon. He’ll set the record straight then. Keep standing up for what’s right until He does.
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- californiarestinpeace - Jan 5, 2012 at 5:07 PM
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I could have Margaret Court begging to receive sodomy from me in 30 minutes. It would not be a challenge I’d relish given her appearance.
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- californiarestinpeace - Jan 5, 2012 at 5:10 PM
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I love hot lesbian sex!
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- goforthanddie - Jan 5, 2012 at 7:06 PM
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Court doesn’t hate anyone, but everyone not exactly like her has to change.
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- rubbernilly - Jan 6, 2012 at 12:10 AM
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Anyone saying it’s a choice, try this:
Pick two foods. One, your favorite. Another, one you’d rather not eat.
Got them in your head?
Now, try to like the second more than the first. Go ahead. Choose to.
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- ponsonbybritt - Jan 6, 2012 at 5:39 PM
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Does an ‘evolving’ Bible mean that “Thou shall not steal” will eventually evolve into “Thou shall plunder thy neighbors without cause” someday?
End of hijacked thread. ; )
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- jimguida - Jan 6, 2012 at 7:44 PM
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I don’t recall ever choosing my sexuality. When did you?
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- ricofoy - Jan 11, 2012 at 5:13 PM
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Good thing Margaret didn’t play on the LPGA tour.
