Navratilova, McEnroe Blast 'homophobic' Court Ahead Of Grand Slam Honour

Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe lined up to criticise Margaret Court's "homophobic" views on Monday as the Australian Open prepared to mark 50 years since the controversial tennis great's calendar-year Grand Slam

Melbourne, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2020 ) :Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe lined up to criticise Margaret Court's "homophobic" views on Monday as the Australian Open prepared to mark 50 years since the controversial tennis great's calendar-year Grand Slam.

Navratilova said the devout Christian's deeply conservative views were "actually hurting people", while McEnroe described Court as a "crazy aunt", adding that marking her 1970 Grand Slam was a "nightmare" for governing body Tennis Australia.

"There's only one thing longer than the list of Margaret Court's list of achievements: it's her list of offensive and homophobic statements," McEnroe said in a no-holds-barred video for Eurosport.

"Margaret Court is actually a ventriloquist, using the Bible as a dummy to say whatever she wants," added the seven-time Grand Slam winner.

Court will be honoured with a ceremony at the Australian Open venue Melbourne Park -- where the second-biggest stadium bears her name -- on Monday.

She won 24 Grand Slam titles, a record for both men and women, and is one of only five players to clean-sweep all four Majors in the same year.

But Court, now a church pastor and based in Perth, Western Australia, has long attracted controversy over her views on race and homosexuality.

The Australian once praised South Africa's apartheid system, said "tennis is full of lesbians" and described transgender children as "the work of the devil".

Tennis Australia has agreed to mark the anniversary but stressed it "does not agree with Court's personal views, which have demeaned and hurt many in our community over a number of years".