Deconstructing Margaret Court's Position
"A time comes when silence is betrayal."
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Words carry weight. For nearly two weeks it has weighed heavily on the minds of tennis fans and players that a great of the sport, Margaret Court, spoke out in forceful condemnation of same-sex marriage and gays in general. Court's words have been well documented, both in the article that originally catalyzed the ruckus, and in columnist James LaRosa's piece for Tennis Channel that included sharply worded reactions from Court's contemporary Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and her countrywoman Rennae Stubbs—all three openly gay themselves.
Further brow furrowing at Court's statements came via Twitter. "Margaret Court; stating the obvious-she just shot herself in the foot, very dissapointing [sic] thoughts & hurtful to alot of really good people," said Brad Gilbert. He added later, "Wish List: Rainbow pocket scarf." Stubbs took to Twitter too, saying simply, "Equality is a right." The WTA itself got involved, releasing a statement saying, “The WTA believes that all human beings, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or otherwise, should be treated equally. This is a fundamental right and principle, including within the world of sport. Anyone advocating otherwise is advocating against fundamental and essential rights.”
Stubbs herself revealed her orientation publicly in 2006. King and Navratilova came out in 1981—the year I was born. Yes, I'm 30 years young. Margaret Court is 72, and her holdings on these issues are no doubt set in stone. She is unlikely to ever swerve from them. Beliefs like that are firmly entrenched, especially in someone of her age. To be honest, the journalist in me applauds Australia's allowance for free speech, come what may from the mouths of men and women. At the same time, the human in me deplores and even mourns the terse, passionate, and ultimately flat-out unacceptable words from Rev. Court. She may fancy herself a truth teller, and a tough-love speaker. The danger therein is how quickly and strongly that method can blow up in one's face.
There are many words to describe Court's position that more or less mean the same thing: Homophobic. Hateful. Intolerant. I'm not ready to crucify her for alleged hate speech or for even a "rant." Sadly, yes, it's 2011 and such speech is still being levied at the local and global gay communities. But the world has heard it all before. Even so, this time it comes from arguably the greatest female tennis player ever, one who was and is a vibrant personality and has been feted at her home Grand Slam event with a stadium show court named after her: Margaret Court Arena. What self- and other-respecting gay or lesbian player—or ally of the LGBT community—would now set foot to play in that stadium come mid-January?
Margaret Court is the pastor and founder of Victory Life Centre outside Perth, Western Australia. As far back as 2008, her church claimed membership of 1,800 people. As of press time, though, she has all of 268 Twitter followers. It's a non-scientific statement to make, but her influence doesn't seem to have caught on like holy wildfire. Maybe that's due to the barrage of clichés that constitute her Twitter feed, but it's reassuring in its own way.
In the last analysis, Margaret Court is not lord—and thank God for that. It is beyond odd that the one who made a name for herself by winning the most Slam singles titles among all tennis players is now perched to insert herself on the wrong side of history. Margaret Court holds a great record, as well as some repulsive personal views. She must also be held accountable. The tongue is a rudder, steers the entire ship of the self. Those are not my words; they hail from Court's own Bible. What she has wrought by way of her vitriol has been paid back with the same. But she's likely to get the worst of it when the Australian Open begins in less than a month: Don't be surprised to find Margaret Court Arena awash in all the colors of the rainbow in a showing of solidarity and support for people who Court continues to malign. Yea, she will yet reap a whirlwind.
—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)
