Former world tennis No.1 Margaret Court has taken to Christian radio to dismiss the contents of fellow former professional Martina Navratilova's open letter which labelled her a "racist" and "homophobe".
Defending herself against the accusations made by Navratilova in an open letter written for Fairfax Media on Thursday, Court defended her stance against same-sex marriage: "I think marriage is so important and children are so important. My thing is just about the definition of marriage.
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Same-sex marriage: the facts
What exactly would change for same-sex couples if they could marry?
"They (the LGBT community) can do what they want to do. I've got nothing against them. Just don't touch the definition in a Bible marriage.
"I don't dislike Martina personally at all, or any other women players. I've got nothing against gay people. I've got them in the church. I've also got over a hundred Africans in my church and they know I love them."
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Court's public opposition to same-sex marriage has sparked furious debate around whether the show court named in her honour at Melbourne Park should be changed.
In her latest comments, Court told listeners: "If the people want my name on there, then it's up to them. I won more grand slams than any other man or woman.
On Thursday, Navratilova launched a stinging attack on the former world number one in an exclusive open letter published by Fairfax Media, calling the Australian a "homophobe" and accusing her of demonising the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
"It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe," Navratilova wrote.
"Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights (note to Court: we are human beings, too). She is demonising trans kids and trans adults everywhere.
"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 stigmatising of our LGBT community," she added.
smh.com.au
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