Right: Margaret Court, former tennis champion, now a pastor and founder of a Pentecostal church.
Arguments against renaming the Margaret Court Arena
1. The arena was named to acknowledge Margaret Court's tennis achievements Supporters of the Margaret Court Arena retaining its current name argue that Margaret Court's personal views on any social issue are irrelevant to the naming of the stadium. According to this line of argument the arena, an area where tennis is played, was named in recognition of Court's sporting achievements. Her attitudes and beliefs have no bearing on her skill and record as a tennis player. This opinion has been put by Australia's Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull who stated during a 3AW interview on May 26, 2017, 'Whatever people may think about Margaret Court's views about gay marriage... she is one of the all time greats and the Margaret Court Arena celebrates Margaret Court the tennis player.' Turnbull further stated, 'She's one of the greatest greats of tennis and that's why the arena is named after her.' The same view has been expressed by former Victorian Premier, John Cain, who has stated, 'Leave the place alone, she [Court] is there because of her merits as a tennis player... This is about the home of tennis. We have arguably the best facility in the world and it should be celebrated by the names of the great players who made Australian tennis what it is. Margaret Court should be there, forget about this other rubbish.' Former Victorian Liberal Premier, Jeff Kennett, has also said of Margaret Court, 'She's recognised because of her performance.' The same position has been argued by US women's tennis champion, Billie Jean King, who is both a contemporary of Margaret Court's and a prominent gay spokesperson. When calls were made to change the arena's name in 2012, King stated, 'She [Court] won more majors than any other woman or man, and she won the grand slam...' When asked how she felt about Court's anti-homosexual comments, King replied, 'Get rid of her for that? Just because you don't agree with someone? Please. She deserves it. She's a great player.' Australian women's Olympic swimming champion Dawn Fraser has also stressed that the stadium has been named in honour of Court's sporting achievements and should not be renamed. Fraser has stated, 'She [Margaret Court] has been a great sportswoman and I don't think they should rename just because of what she has said.' 2. Margaret Court is entitled to express her views on same-sex marriage Among those who argue that Margaret Court Arena should retain that name are those who argue that Court is entitled to express her opinions irrespective of whether they are widely accepted. Many of her supporters, while not endorsing her point of view, are concerned to defend Court's freedom of expression. This point was made in a Herald Sun editorial published on May 27, 2017. The editorial states, 'Regardless of where people stand on the issue of same-sex marriage, respectful freedom of speech must be valued and protected.' The editorial further states, 'Whether you agree with Court or not, she has a right to her opinion - and to express it. Those who support marriage equality have the same rights to expression - but it must be respectful.' In an opinion piece published in the Northern Star on May 27, 2017, Mark Furler states, 'At a time when the marriage equality movement is pushing tolerance, those who dare to offer a counterview are ridiculed for the crime of having an opinion. Margaret Court's view may not be that of the majority of Australians, based on the polls, but she's entitled to have it. To suggest an arena bearing her name should be renamed is absurd. Australia is a country that has freedom of speech. It's a freedom that was fought for at great cost by men and women during a series of conflicts. It's a freedom that allows the gay community to fight for what they see as a fundamental human right. Yet Court's treatment...was demeaning and completely unfair.' Former Liberal Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, has suggested that renaming the Margaret Court Arena would represent a threat to the freedom of speech of all Australians. Kennett has stated, 'If anyone in a position of power gives in to those demands, God help the rest of us - it's a non-negotiable.' Margaret Court has also stressed the importance of Australians being able to express their opinions freely. She has stated, 'I have my views and I can express my views just like gay people expressing their views. I think it's important we do have that freedom of speech.' 3. Margaret Court has not made personal attacks Those who argue that the Margaret Court Arena should not be renamed also tend to note that Margaret Court, in making her remarks regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage, was not intending to give personal offence to homosexuals. In 2012 Margaret Court claimed, 'I have always said I have nothing against homosexual people.' Court has indicated that she does not accept same sex marriage and does not support same couples rearing children but claims that she thinks kindly of those who are homosexual. As part of the discussion that surrounded her views in 2012, Court stated, 'When I stood for marriage, things came back from tennis players who probably didn't read what I wrote. It had nothing to do with people personally or tennis players. I remember speaking to Navratilova 10 years ago on something she brought up with me and I said "Martina, I love you, God loves you, but don't touch marriage between a man and a woman.'"' In 2012 Court repeated that her object was to defend heterosexual marriage and that she bore no animosity toward homosexual people. She stated, 'You've only got to go the Bible and look at Genesis 1 and 2, and read it and what it says about marriage and family. It's important to me because I've got nothing against homosexual people.' When in 2013, Margaret Court used the occasion of the birth of Casey Dellacqua's son to regret the fact that children born into lesbian families were often deprived of contact with their fathers she stressed that this was not a personal attack. Court stated, 'Personally, I have nothing against Casey Dellacqua or her "partner". I simply want to champion the rights of the family over the rights of the individual to engineer social norms and produce children into their relationships.' During her May 26, 2017 interview on Channel 10's The Project, Margaret Court claimed that her current intention is to defend the heterosexual definition of marriage, not to attack gay people. Court stated, 'I have nothing against homosexual people, they can lead their life, but don't touch marriage, and it's permanent and precious.' 4. Other sporting celebrities whose behaviour has been in some way questionable have not been stripped of sporting honours It has been claimed that the focus on Margaret Court's beliefs is unjust as other sporting heroes who have had stadiums named in their honour have not been treated similarly. In an opinion piece published in The Roar on May 26, 2017, Matt Cleary stated, 'Are we going to rename the Bradman Stand because The Don didn't go much on Catholics? Or the Lillee-Marsh Stand because the boys had a bet on England in a Test against Australia they were playing in?' Research has raised questions about Don Bradman's opposition to apartheid, indicating that Bradman and the Australian Board of Control lobbied Australian politicians and diplomats in an attempt to keep white South African cricket in the international arena. In an opinion piece published in The New Daily on January 28, 2014, David Dunstan and Tom Heenan, lecturers in sports studies at Monash University, noted, 'One of his [Bradman's]great regrets was buckling under to Australian government policy which supported a boycott.' Bradman has also been accused of not doing sufficient as an administrator to ensure that cricketers were adequately paid. In a comment published in The Tribune on March 3, 2001, shortly after Bradman's death, Scyld Berry stated, 'Although he had done what he could to cash in when a player, Bradman watched as an administrator while the players of the 1970s earned so little they fell easy prey to Kerry Packer when he set up World Series Cricket.' Supporters of Margaret Court Arena retaining its current name have used the unquestioned sporting status of Don Bradman (whatever his personal failings may have been) to argue that Court's sporting achievements should be treated with the same respect. In an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun on May 26, 2017, commentator Andrew Bolt posed the rhetorical question, 'Should we now check what Sir Donald Bradman thought on gay marriage? We might have to rename the Bradman Oval.' 5. Margaret Court is being bullied Those who oppose the renaming of Margaret Court Arenas argue that such tactics are an attempt to use force and intimidation to silence an opponent, rather than rational argument. This point was made by James Morrow in an opinion piece published in The Daily Telegraph on May 26, 2017. Morrow stated, 'Abusive condemnation and hounding from polite society are not the actions of those who want to spread their cause by arguing in good faith. Instead, they are warnings not to step out of line...' The same point as made in an editorial published in The Herald Sun on May 27, 2017. The editorial stated, 'The barrage of derision levelled at Margaret Court over her stance against same-sex marriage is an appalling example of intimidation aimed at shutting down alternate views.' Margaret Court has also stated that she considers that she and others who oppose homosexuality and same sex marriage have been bullied. Court has stated, 'People have their views. And I think, right across the nation, any Christian or anyone who is standing up about the values of marriage or anything is getting slammed in this country. I think we're getting bullied, and I think it's been a bit too one-way, and we haven't been able to say why we believe marriage is between a man and a woman. At the moment it's like nobody can say anything. We're getting persecuted. We're getting bullied because we do free speech.' Margaret Court has stressed that she sees moves to rename Margaret Court Arena as bullying. She has stated, 'It's very sad that they are bringing my tennis into it. This is why I say it's become ... bullying. I don't think they should, and I don't think most of the public of Australia think they should. I don't think you should bring my tennis into it... I think it's very sad that they're bringing my tennis into it. This is why I say it's becoming a bullying from the homosexual gay side of people, they are now bullying us.' Court has further stated, 'It's like nobody can say anything. We are getting persecuted; we are getting bullied because we do have free speech also. It's very, very much one-way.' |
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