- Justin Smith labels Margaret Court a ‘second-class person’
- Steve Price tells Smith he’s out of line for the comments
- Margaret Court will attend the Australian Open in 2024
Steve Price has criticized Justin Smith’s comments labeling Australian tennis legend Margaret Court as a “second-class human being”, saying the columnist was “out of line” during a TV appearance.
Court is set to attend the Australian Open for the first time since 2020 in week two of the tournament.
The 81-year-old – who is known for her strong anti-gay views – will be joined at Melbourne Park by fellow Australians Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Frank Sedgman.
Court is unlikely to be well received by tennis fans, as calls have grown in recent years to retitle the arena named in her honor because of her views on gay marriage and trans athletes.
Speaking on Sky News, columnist Justin Smith infuriated Price with his take on the situation.
Margaret Court is set to attend the Australian Open for the first time since 2020, a move sure to cause controversy among tennis fans
“She’s a top-notch tennis player, more than top-notch, she’s fantastic,” Smith said on The Kenny Report.
“I also happen to think she’s a second-rate human being and has caused terrible damage and said terrible things about trans people and gay marriage, and I think she’s a delusional Jesus freak.
“But as far as being a tennis player goes, I think she’s great.”
Host Liz Storer called Smith’s comments “disgusting,” before Steve Price intervened.
“Your comments about Margaret Court are simply inconsistent,” Price said.
“I’m serious: the woman is an evangelical pastor in Washington and that is her opinion. If she is entitled to her opinion, that is freedom of speech.
Smith responded, “She’s forced it on other people, and I’m just pushing my views on her – why not?”
In 2017, Court, a Christian minister, shocked tennis identities and supporters after declaring the sport was “full of lesbians.”
Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe’s on-court protest over Margaret Court at the 2020 Australian Open divided tennis fans
Court won 24 Grand Slam titles in her career, including all four offered in 1970
She previously labeled gay marriage as ‘a trend’ and the 24-time Grand Slam winner also expressed her belief that transgender athletes do not belong in top sport.
But despite many negative headlines, Court was undeterred.
She confirmed at the time that in her work as a pastor she preaches that “marriage is between a man and a woman” and that “children need a mother and a father… as God has ordained.”
In February last year, US indie music sensation Phoebe Bridgers branded Court a ‘dumb c**t’ for her anti-LGTQI+ views.
Bridgers played to a sold-out crowd at the Melbourne arena bearing the tennis legend’s name – and took time to lead the crowd in a ‘f**k Margaret Court’ chant, with the vision quickly going viral.
Court last attended the Open four years ago in honor of the 50th anniversary of her 1970 Grand Slam, when she won all four majors in the calendar year.
At the Australian Open she was virtually unbeatable, winning an impressive eleven singles titles – and she was also a prolific winner in women’s doubles and mixed doubles over the course of her career.