"A racist and a homophobe, her vitriol is not just an opinion" - When Martina Navratilova slammed Margaret Court for her anti-LGBTQ views
Martina Navratilova had once slammed Margaret Court's opinion on the LGBT community by calling her a racist and a homophobe.
Court, who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, had said in May 2017 that tennis was full of lesbians.
"I mean, tennis is full of lesbians, because even when I was playing, there was only a couple there, but those couple that led took young ones into parties and things," the Aussie said.
Court also likened the LGBT community to the devil, Nazis, and communism.
"That's all the devil... but that's what Hitler did and that's what communism did - got the mind of the children. And there's a whole plot in our nation, and in the nations of the world to get the minds of the children," the Aussie said.
Martina Navratilova responded to Margaret Court's comments a few days later by calling her an amazing tennis player who, though, was a racist as well as a homophobe. She said that the Aussie was actively trying to prevent LGBT people from getting equal rights and was "demonizing" transgender people everywhere.
“It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe. Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights. She is demonizing trans kids and trans adults everywhere," Navratilova said.
“And now, linking LGBT to Nazis, communists, the devil? This is not OK. This is, in fact, sick and it is dangerous. Kids will suffer more because of this continuous bashing and stigmatizing of our LGBT community," she added.
Martina Navratilova and Margaret Court faced one another seven times
Martina Navratilova and Margaret Court have faced one another on seven occasions, with the former leading 5-2 in the head-to-head.
The first meeting between the two came in the quarterfinals of the 1975 Australian Open, with a then-teenaged Navratilova winning 6-4, 6-3. Five of the seven meetings between the two came that year, including last-eight clashes at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Court won 6-3, 6-4 at the grass-court Major while Navratilova triumphed 6-2, 6-4 at the New York Grand Slam.
The last encounter between the two came in the semifinals of the 1977 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles, with the American coming back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Martina Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles throughout her career while Margaret Court won 24.