The Australian Open’s Icy Embrace of Margaret Court
January 31, 2020
Against the backdrop of Court’s celebration, an angry Navratilova made her views clearer. The following day, in the moments after she finished an exhibition doubles match at Melbourne Park, she took to the umpire’s chair and addressed the crowd over a microphone. “I’ve been speaking out about an issue for a while now,” said the former world No. 1 and three-time Australian Open singles champion, “and John McEnroe is here to help.”
Suddenly there was McEnroe — another ardent critic of Court. Together they held aloft a banner. “Evonne Goolagong Arena,” it read, a nod to calls for Melbourne Park’s second biggest stadium to be renamed after an uncontroversial and widely beloved Australian great of the women’s game, the winner of three consecutive Australian Opens in the mid-1970s.
The dust-up was uncommon in today’s era of professional tennis, where such outspokenness on contentious social and political issues rarely happens. Tennis Australia — which runs the tournament and governs the game across the continent — clamped down within hours. The organization issued a statement that called out its “high-profile guests” for breaching protocol. “We embrace diversity,” the statement added, “inclusion, and the right for people to have their view, as well as their right to express that view.”
That admonishment — denouncing the protest while also making sure to highlight inclusion — underscored the bind Australian Open organizers have found themselves in at this year’s tournament, one that is becoming increasingly felt throughout the sports world by teams, leagues, hall of fames and especially fans.
How do we treat heroes once they’ve become swaddled in controversy off the field of play?
“These are the kinds of questions we are increasingly having to ask,” said Kenneth Shropshire, a professor and the head of the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University.
“And what do we do with people who don’t exactly apologize,” Shropshire said. People who “don’t feel they need to change?”