Australian tennis player Samantha Stosur. Photo: Twitter
Tennis players may boycott the arena named after Australian grand slam champion Margaret Court after she herself vowed to boycott an airline for its stance on marriage equality.
Court is one of three women to win all four single grand slams titles in a year but has been a vocal opponent of LGBTI issues in recent years.
Last week she attracted controversy when she wrote to her local paper announcing she would boycott national airline, Qantas. She was not happy with its CEO, Alan Joyce’s public support for marriage equality.
‘As you will know, I have represented Australia many times and have the proud record of never losing a tennis match while playing for my country. I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage. I believe in marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the Bible,’ Court wrote in an open letter published in The Western Australian.
Samantha Stosur is currently Australia’s highest ranked women’s singles player.
Speaking after her first round win at the French Open, Stosur hinted players may boycott playing at the Margaret Court Arena during the next Australian Open.
The Margaret Court Arena is one of multiple venues at Melbourne Park which plays host to the Australian Open.
Margaret. Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/Cl1DtC4aSL
— caseydellacqua (@caseydellacqua) May 25, 2017
Stosur apparently threw her support behind her fellow player, the openly gay Casey Dellacqua who tweeted ‘Margaret. Enough is enough.’
‘Look, I think everyone can have their own opinion. I don’t agree with Margaret’s opinion,’ she said at a media conference after her match.
‘That’s why Casey was, obviously, very adamant about that and I wanted to support my friend and that’s why I sent out my first tweet in a very long time.
‘And, look, it’s just not something that I agree with. I think we definitely should have it (same-sex marriage) in Australia.’
Proud of you Case x https://t.co/xaGDHQo22N
— Samantha Stosur (@bambamsam30) May 25, 2017
Aussie tennis players speak out
More Australian tennis players are speaking out against Court’s views.
‘It’s a little bit inappropriate,’ John Millman told ABC Online.
‘I have a lot of time for Casey. I think she’s a great person and I think she’s a great mother.
‘I’m all for any type of relationships. The more people get along the better and so it’s a little bit disappointing.
‘I just think in this day and age, there’s so much worse things happening in the world.
‘It’s not a bad thing. I think it’s a great thing when two people, regardless of their gender, find love and whatever.’
