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Tennis greats and out lesbians Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King have responded publicly Australian tennis legend Margaret Court’s antigay rhetoric, according to Tennis Channel.com.
Last week, Court, a pastor in Perth’s Victory Life Church, railed against gay marriage as an affront to God in an interview with The West Australian.
"To dismantle this sole definition of marriage [as between a man and a woman] 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,” Court said.
Court, who began her reign on the tennis courts in the late sixties and throughout much of the seventies earning 62 major titles overall, also invoked a little Lady Gaga in her antigay rant.
"The fact that the homosexual cry is, 'We can't help it as we were born this way', as the cause behind their own personal choice is cause for concern. Every action begins with a thought. There is a choice to be made,” she told The West Australian.
Following Court’s recent remarks Navratilova and King shot back.
“I respectfully disagree with Margaret’s position on gay marriage. We have to commit to eliminating homophobia because everyone is entitled to the same rights, opportunities and protection,” King said.
Seems to me a lot of people have evolved as has the Bible, unfortunately Margaret Court has not. Her myopic view is truly frightening as well as damaging to the thousands of children already living in same gender families,” Navratilova told The Tennis Channel. I have tried to talk to Margaret, but to say she’s completely close-minded on the issue is an understatement.”
It’s not the first time Court has openly bashed homosexuality. She has fought against legislation in Australia that would afford some rights to LGBT people and she has accused Navratilova and other lesbian and bisexual players of ruining the sport and being a bad influence on young players, according to The Tennis Channel.
Image via Getty.
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Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
