Margaret Court maintains stance on gay marriage
Margaret Court has caused controversy once again by repeating her views on marriage and the “choice” people make to be gay.
The tennis player-turned-church leader attended the Australian Open today, despite speculation that she might get caught up in demonstrations by those opposed to her views.
The 69-year-old ex-tennis player said in a comment piece for the Melbourne Herald Sun, maintaining her stance on the subject:
“Let me be clear. I believe that a person’s sexuality is a choice. In the Bible it said that homosexuality is among sins that are works of the flesh,” she wrote.
“It is not something you are born with. My concern is that we are advocating to young people that it is OK to have these feelings.”
She goes on to say: “A nun at my primary school once gave me the cane and it was one of the best lessons of my life”.
Tennis legend and LGBT rights campaigner, Martina Navratilova, commented on Court’s “outdated” views earlier this week: “It is not about any one person,” she said. “It’s about human rights. It is a secular view, not a religious view.
“I have spoken to her years ago but she was all about Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. She repeated that four or five times so I just felt I couldn’t get through to her.”
Calls by Court’s opposition to rename the Margaret Court Arena after Martina Navratilova have been met with mixed responses.
Protesters are reportedly planning to wear rainbow colours and wave more rainbow flags on Friday.
Causing controversy for the second time in a month, Court has made it clear that she won’t change her stance on gay marriage.
She said: “To target me and the tennis is a political stunt.”
She told the Herald Sun: “I love (gays), I even work with them… but what concerns me so much is the amount of hatred that has been directed at me.”
