Two tennis legends issued apologies after joining together for a doubles protest at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Maria Navratilova and John McEnroe were reprimanded by Australian Open officials after unfurling a banner that read “Evonne Goolagong Arena” in the center of Margaret Court Arena.
Goolagong is an Australian tennis player of Aboriginal descent who is a member of the Tennis Hall of Fame and went on to do great charitable work after retiring in 1983.
Navratilova and McEnroe presented the banner calling for the renaming of the facility after Navratilova mounted the umpire’s chair in an attempt to address the crowd only for the sound to be cut off by event staff.
“I got in trouble, I am sorry I broke protocol,” Navratilova said on Wednesday.
“Had I known, I would have done it differently. I would have still tried to make my statement, which is that you name buildings after not what people did on the court, but also off the court, the whole body of work.”
The former world No. 1 has been one of the leaders in the push to rename the venue, publishing an open letter to Tennis.com on Monday.
Court, a 24-time major singles champion, including 11 Australian Open titles, has been widely condemned for her controversial views on race and sexuality. Court has publicly criticized tennis for its acceptance of LBGTQ athletes and has been quoted as saying that transgender children are the work of “the devil.” It is also worth noting that the former tennis great was in favor of South Africa’s apartheid in the seventies.
The 77-year-old Court was invited to this year’s tournament to honor the 50th anniversary of her calendar year Grand Slam in 1970.
McEnroe released a statement late on Tuesday saying, “Admittedly I was never one to study the rule book carefully or for that matter, even at times abide by the rules.”
“In this case, I was not aware of the Tennis Australia rules and protocol for issuing credentials,” he continued. “For that I apologize to Tennis Australia and recognize and appreciate the great job they have done to make the Australian Open a great event for the fans, players and myself.”
“We embrace diversity, inclusion, and the right for people to have a view, as well as their right to voice that view,” Tennis Australia said in a statement. “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.”
“Two high-profile guests have breached these protocols, and we are working through this with them,” they concluded.
Daniel's Writing Test 