Tennis Legend Boycotts Airline Because CEO Supports Gay Marriage

Tennis legend, Margaret Court (74) has decided to reject Qantas Airline after its chief executive officer Alan Joyce showed his support for same sex marriages. Court, who won a record 62 Grand Slam titles, including a record 24 singles titles, wrote an open letter  stating her opinion of Qantas Airlines and its CEO. The letter was published in an Australian Daily.

In the letter, she wrote, “I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage. I believe in marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the Bible.”

Court turned into a Christian pastor after taking retirement from tennis. She has been quite an active member of a group opposing same sex marriage. Earlier in 2011, she had made a statement which created quite a stir in the gay community of Australia. She had said that gay people are always “aggressively demanding marriage rights that are not theirs to take",” reported Independent. She even criticised Martina Navratilova and other lesbian tennis players for “ruining the sport”.

On the other side, Qantas CEO is openly gay and has been a huge supporter of gay rights.

In the Australian parliament, close to 20 same-sex marriage related bills have been introduced but none have been passed yet.

ALSO READ: Ekta Kapoor’s New Web Series Presents Romeo and Juliet As A Gay Couple

The open letter written by Court has compelled Tennis Australia to issue a statement saying they don’t align with her views.

“As a legend of the sport, we respect Margaret Court’s achievements in tennis and her unmatched playing record.

“Her personal views are her own, and do not align with Tennis Australia’s values of equality, inclusion and diversity.”

Court’s letter also sparked an outrage on social media where people claimed that since Virgin Airlines has also joined the supporters of same-sex marriage supporter group, Court may have to struggle to fly outside the country.

Picture credit- SBS

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