Tennis Legend Billie Jean King Says She Will Turn Down Criticism of Margaret Court

Tennis legend Billie Jean King says she will stop asking for Margaret Court's name to be removed from the Australian Open Arena that has been named after the Australian legend but adds that she would like Court to change her stance on the LGBT community.

Speaking to the New York Daily News, King commented, “She’s mad at me, because she doesn’t want me to say her name should be removed. And I appreciate that. I’m going to stop probably. (But she should be) more loving.”

King, who recently got a Barbie doll figure in her honour, also said she would not have joined fellow tennis legends Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe during their on-court protest at the Australian Open last month when the two held up a sign that read: Evonne Goolagong Arena - asking for the Arena to be renamed after Goolagong.

King says, "When someone has their name on something, you’ve got to be really hospitable, and I feel that Margaret’s not doing that."

The 73 year old King has been honoured as well in a similar manner as Court - in 2006, the United States Tennis Association named its entire National Tennis Center facility in Queens after her.

Court has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles in her career - the most by any singles player in the history of tennis - and has now become a pastor. She has been quite vocal about her views on the LGBT community which has not gone down well with several tennis fans and those who are in favour of equality and gay rights.  

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2PFNarg