web1_119594266-668ec8f0fb5c401998f0b5b04cc29049.jpg

Some utility rates could go down after US corporate tax cuts

web1_Reilly-Finishing-Technologies-Tree-Picture.jpeg

Grotto Parade of Trees raises more than $46,000 for worthy causes

<p>MELBOURNE, Australia &#8212; Billie Jean King thinks one of the main venues at the Australian Open should be renamed because of Margaret Court&#8217;s comments about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.</p><p>King, a trailblazer for equality and diversity in tennis, said she had initially been a proponent of having Margaret Court Arena named in 2003 in recognition of the 24-time Grand Slam singles winner&#8217;s contribution to the sport.</p><p>&#8220;I was fine until lately when she said so many derogatory things about my community &#8212; I&#8217;m a gay woman &#8212; about the LBGTIQ community,&#8221; King said at news conference Friday. &#8220;That really went deep in my heart and soul.</p><p>&#8220;I personally don&#8217;t think she should have (her name on the stadium) anymore.&#8221;</p><p>King is attending the Australian Open for the first time in eight years, marking the 50th anniversary of her win over Court for the Australian title.</p><p>King said if she was still competing, she wouldn&#8217;t play on Margaret Court Arena. King said she wouldn&#8217;t promote a boycott of the stadium, but encouraged players to &#8220;seek their own heart and mind&#8221; before making a decision.</p><p>Organizers have recognized the American tennis great as the Australian Open Woman of the Year and launched its &#8220;Open4All&#8221; initiative to promote equality, diversity and inclusion to coincide with King&#8217;s visit.</p><p>King, one of the original professionals in women&#8217;s tennis and winner of 12 major singles titles in the Open era, said she had regularly met with Court at tournaments in the years since they retired after &#8220;we grew up together playing each other.&#8221;</p><p>The 75-year-old Court, who holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles across the amateur and Open eras, is a Christian pastor who lives in Perth, Western Australia.</p><p>Court&#8217;s negative comments about gay people before Australia voted in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage were heavily criticized last year. Court also has called transgender children the work of &#8220;the devil.&#8221;</p><p>Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam singles winner, wrote an open letter last year criticizing Court and recommended that tennis officials rename the arena after another Australian great, Evonne Goolagong Cawley.</p><p>King said she lobbied on Court&#8217;s behalf after Melbourne Park&#8217;s center court was named for Rod Laver in 2000. Her show court was recently upgraded to add a roof and bigger capacity.</p><p>Court is a regular at the event, but is not attending this year&#8217;s Australian Open, which starts Monday.</p><p>Tournament director Craig Tiley said Court had a standing invitation to the season-opening major, and would be welcome in the future as she had been in the past.</p><p>He said there had been &#8220;conversation&#8221; among stakeholders of Melbourne Park regarding the issue, but there was no process in place to change the name of the stadium. He said Tennis Australia &#8212; a tenant at the venue &#8212; would take the lead of the government on the issue.</p><p>In 2006, the U.S. Tennis Association named the site of the U.S. Open, located in a public park in New York, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.</p><p>King said she wished Court was in Melbourne so they could continue the conversation.</p><p>&#8220;You can have discussion around it. I would be very welcome to Margaret,&#8221; the 74-year-old King said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really important if you&#8217;re going to have your name on anything that you&#8217;re hospitable, you&#8217;re inclusive, you open your arms to everyone that comes. It&#8217;s a public facility.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_Billie-Jean-King.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Billie Jean King is in Melbourne to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her Australian Open victory. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_Billie-Jean-King.jpg</photo0><caption0>Billie Jean King is in Melbourne to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her Australian Open victory. </caption0><photoCredit0>Mark Baker | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Pye</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Billie Jean King backs calls to rename Margaret Court Arena