“I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage.”
Australian tennis legend Margaret Court has vowed to stop flying, “where possible”, with Australia’s biggest airline, Qantas, due to its stance on marriage equality.
Court, who has won more Grand Slam singles title than any player in history, serves as a Christian minister in Perth and wrote an open letter, published in the West Australian newspaper, expressing her disappointment that the airline has “become an active promoter for same-sex marriage”.
In the letter (see below), Court said that she believes in “marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the Bible” and that Qantas’ stance on same-sex marriage “leaves me no option but to use other airlines where possible for my extensive travelling”.
https://twitter.com/janeenorman/status/867566208681336832
Court’s letter comes after Qantas CEO, Irishman Alan Joyce, was recently one of 20 CEOs of major companies in Australia to sign a joint letter in support of marriage equality.
Not long afterwards, Joyce, who is gay, had a pie thrown in his face at a public business event by a 67-year old man, Tony Overheu, who said that his actions were in in protest at what he described as “corporate bullying”.
Man who shoved a lemon meringue pie into Alan Joyce’s face has been banned from flying with Qantas for life. https://t.co/YfrgM7vOWt #7News pic.twitter.com/lHGf1mRSJD
— 7NEWS Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) May 15, 2017
Overheu was later charged by police and banned by Qantas.
Court, who won 24 Grand Slam singles titles during the course of her career, one more than her nearest challenger, Serena Williams, is a senior pastor at Perth’s Victory Life Church and has long been a vocal critic of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Australia’s other major domestic airline, Virgin, also supports marriage equality.
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