Vahaly addresses Court's harping on LGBT community

People will regard you quite differently when you make a pivotal life change.

Brian Vahaly is one to know. Earlier this year, he came out rather publicly as gay in a Sports Illustrated podcast with Jon Wertheim. But not just as gay, but also as husband to Bill Ford, and father to 1-year-old twin boys.

In a recent *Outsports* Q&A, the former ATP Top 100 player delivered some frank verbal volleys, speaking to how fatherhood and marriage have changed him and his perspectives, how current ATP No. 1 Andy Murray's addressing of LGBT helps, and how Margaret Court's comments about gays and their families can do serious damage.

Vahaly himself once played a match on the Australian Open's Margaret Court Arena against Andre Agassi in 2003:

For the record, he would be "moved" to see Tennis Australia rename that edifice.

After a career-stalling injury, Vahaly traded wielding tennis racquets for fielding financial data, retiring from tour play. It was at that time, in his late 20s, that Vahaly also came to terms with his sexual orientation. What's more, when he and Ford wed in 2015, they got word on that most positively fateful of wedding nights that their surrogate was pregnant.

"In my experience, I have often found that most people who discriminate and stereotype people or families tend to lack first-hand knowledge," Vahaly said. "I think if [Court] met [my sons] little Parker and Bennett and actually came into our home, she would understand why her words were so hurtful to so many people."

Even though their lives "exploded" upon the twins joining their family, and though those first four months as a foursome involved little that resembled true rest, Vahaly has found himself grateful.

"You realize someday that you will actually die–and these boys and this family will be the legacy that matters most," he said.

This is someone who searched–and found–something worth leaving behind.

"You live for the moments where they rest their heads on your shoulder," Vahaly said of his boys. "You quickly learn that you don’t know as much as you think you do."

No matter what your opinions are of Court, that certainly sounds a lot like someone who should definitely have children.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.