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accountant1usa wrote:CONGRATULATIONS to BILLIE JEAN KING & JOHN McENROE
Its great to see people standing up to whats right!
Australian Open organisers have criticised Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe after they staged a protest calling for the name of Margaret Court Arena to be changed at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
The two greats of the game have been among the fiercest critics of Court for her statements on LGBTIQ matters and, a day after the 24-time grand slam singles champion was honoured on the 50th anniversary of her calendar Grand Slam, they took matters into their own hands.
After Navratilova took part in a legends’ doubles match on the neighbouring 1573 Arena, she was joined on court by McEnroe before climbing into the umpire’s chair to address the crowd that remained.
The sound system was quickly turned off but McEnroe and Navratilova then held up a banner reading ‘Evonne Goolagong Arena’. Goolagong won seven grand slam singles titles during her career and was a trailblazer for indigenous Australian tennis.
The protest did not impress tournament organisers , who said in a punchy statement: “We embrace diversity, inclusion and the right for people to have a view, as well as their right to voice that view. But the Australian Open has regulations and protocols with respect to how any fan, player or guest can use our facility, the event and the global stage it provides. This is to ensure the integrity of our event.
I particularly liked what Navratilova had to say about why she picked Goolagong, an Indigenous Australian, who won seven grand slam singles titles – four Australian Opens, two Wimbledons and the French Open – between 1971 and 1980.
“When airports, buildings, streets or stadiums are named after particular people, it is done, or at least should be done, to [honour] exceptional human beings – our heroes. Think Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Rosa Parks. Would it not be appropriate if the Staples Center [in Los Angeles] were renamed as a tribute to Kobe Bryant? Such luminaries excelled in their fields and transcended them; they made a positive contribution to mankind; they led by example. And, perhaps most of all, they were on the right side of history.
But Margaret Court does not belong in that company or category. Nobody disputes her achievements on the tennis court, and her place in the sport’s history remains as distinguished as it gets. Nobody wants to take away or diminish her career, least of all me. Margaret, Billie Jean [King] and Rod [Laver] were my childhood heroes. I wanted to be like them. So, it pains me to say this, but Margaret Court Arena must be renamed.
As a worthy replacement, my vote goes to Evonne Goolagong. Evonne is the embodiment of what a role model or hero truly is. Her heritage, her success against the odds, her Hall of Fame career and her exemplary life off court, in which she has given so much of herself to so many causes, are all attributes we can celebrate wholeheartedly.
In our tennis ‘family’, we celebrate the good values of our sport and we love how democratic and inclusive it has become, the way it has driven out prejudice and unfair exclusion. Yes, we have free speech in a democracy, but that doesn’t mean that free speech doesn’t have consequences.When Margaret goes out of her way to single out a group of people and tell them they don’t deserve equal rights, that they are less than good parents, that they are not godly, that’s not merely free speech. It’s hateful and hurtful speech and it’s injurious to countless vulnerable people.
Why not pick someone whom every child can look up to and want to emulate – a champion who inspires and motivates young and old to do their best and be their best every day? For me, that person is Evonne Goolagong. Evonne Goolagong Arena. Perfect.”
@anna1561_mobi 
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