Court Calls Navratilova Poor Role Model

PERTH, Australia —  Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova is a poor role model for aspiring professional tennis players because she is a homosexual, former Grand Slam winner Margaret Court says.

Court, a winner of 25 Grand Slam titles, including three at Wimbledon, said in newspaper and radio interviews today that Navratilova’s admitted homosexuality is a bad example for younger players.

“She (Navratilova) is a great player, but I’d like to see somebody at the top to whom the younger players can look up to,” said the 47-year-old Court, a born-again Christian who now lives in Perth. “It is very sad for children to be exposed to it (homosexuality).”

Peter Johnson, who represents Navratilova for International Management Group in Cleveland, said she would have no comment on the story.

Court said some players had been led into homosexuality by other senior players, but did not identify them. She also said she believes Navratilova was influenced into a lesbian lifestyle during her early years on the pro tour.

Court added that some players are accompanied to tournaments by their families to shield them from potential trouble.

“If I had a daughter on the circuit, I’d want to be there,” Court said. “There are now some players who don’t even go to the tournament changing rooms because of the problem.”

Karen Schwartz, deputy director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in New York, called Court’s statements “totally ridiculous.”

“Underlying her statements is a complete ignorance of homosexuality,” Schwartz said. “You don’t catch it.”

“Winning Wimbledon a record nine times qualifies you as a role model,” she said. “That is the fundamental qualification. The rest has very little to do with it.”

Court, inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979, won her last Wimbledon singles title in 1970.

Navratilova won the first of her Wimbledon singles titles in 1978 and a record ninth when she defeated American Zina Garrison in straight sets on Saturday.