An investigation is underway into American legends John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova after they breached Australian Open protocols when continuing their protests against Margaret Court on Tuesday.
A day after the pair called for Margaret Court Arena to be renamed due to her views on homosexuality, McEnroe and Navratilova unveiled a makeshift banner on the court.
The banner read “Evonne Goolagong Arena” and followed an open letter from Navratilova calling on authorities to switch the name of the court to the fellow Australian legend.
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The protest occurred after Navratilova had played a legends doubles match on the court.
At the completion, she jumped into the umpires chair to discuss the concerns raised in her letter to a small crowd in attendance.
The transmission to the court was cut off on the infancy of her speech before McEnroe, who has also been heavily critical of the West Australian pastor, joined her on the court.
An Australian Open statement said the tournament embraced “diversity, inclusion and the right for people to have a view, as well as their right to voice that view”.
“But the Australian Open has regulations and protocols with respect to how any fan, player or guest can use our facility, the event and the global stage it provides. This is to ensure the integrity of the event,” a statement read. “Two high-profile guests have breached these protocols and we are working through this with them.”
In a letter published on Tennis.com, Navratilova said the views of the 24-time major winner were extremely hurtful to people with the LGBT community.
The 18-time major champion said that while it was understandable venues were named after sporting legends, generally those athletes were on the “right side of history”.
“But Margaret Court does not belong in that company or category,” she wrote.
Sports Reporter
Melbourne
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