The trouble with treating as saints people who merely possess good hand-eye co-ordination is that they sometimes turn out to be sinners.

It takes a particularly serious off-field indiscretion – or an accumulation of many, many petty ones – to tarnish the on-field exploits of sporting heroes in supporters’ eyes. Simply by dint of their success in a chosen sport and the associated money, prestige and power that comes from it, these people are afforded a number of chances ordinary citizens can only dream of. 

There is no questioning the talent of sportsmen such as AFL greats Gary Ablett snr and Ben Cousins and Olympic swimmers Grant Hackett and Geoff Huegill. But each of these once exalted figures have had incidents away from the sporting arena that demonstrate monumental – and in some cases irredeemable – character flaws.

The latest sporting champion to come under scrutiny for her off-field conduct is tennis great Margaret Court.

Court’s open letter to Qantas, published in The West Australian last week, criticising CEO Alan Joyce’s advocacy for same-sex marriage has sparked furious debate on both sides of the divisive issue.

In airing her deeply conservative, faith-based views in opposition to gay marriage, Court has been accused – not for the first time – of peddling homophobia.

Understandably, the LGBTI community and others who support same-sex marriage were offended. That Court made her name in a sport in which many of its greatest past and present players are gay only adds to the insult. However, the reaction to Court’s personal views, including calls for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed, have served only to give them prominence they scarcely deserve. The arena in question only bears her name because she was better at tennis than her opponents. She did not earn the honour for her compassion or decency, and therefore should not be punished for displaying an absence of both.

Court did not break any laws and is quite entitled to her views.

All the anger and energy expelled towards her should instead be directed at our politicians for failing to represent the views of the majority of Australians and introducing same-sex marriage.

- Ross Tyson, deputy editor