EVERYBODY is entitled to their opinion, and to freedom of speech, but in this era of obsessive political correctness one treads a fine line. Yet Margaret Court's opinions about same-sex marriage might better have remained private.

The Australian won 24 grand slam singles titles – more than any male or female player in tennis history – but she now risks being remembered, not for her career, but for her ranting intolerance.

The 74-year-old Christian pastor says transgender children are the work of "the devil", and believes homosexuality and abortion are abominations to the Lord. She refuses to fly on her country's national airline because its chief executive supports gay marriage.

The gospel according to Court is one of intolerance. She denies it is one of hate, claiming she includes homosexuals in her church. However, like fundamentalists of any creed which would impose an ill-conceived way of life on society, Court's views appear to me to be a corruption, one which goes far beyond frankness and honesty.

Predictably – and rightly – she has been labelled racist and homophobic by Martina Navratilova. Her open letter to the Margaret Court Arena suggests it would be appropriate to rebrand the Australian Open venue as the Evonne Goolagong Arena.

An Aboriginal, Goolagong defied racial prejudice to win seven grand slam titles. Fewer than Court, but for me, she ranks higher on the humanity scale. Like Navratilova, I reckon having an arena named in your honour demands one be a decent human being, as well as successful.

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Navratilova said she held no grudge against Court who described the Czech-born player as: "a bad role model because I was a lesbian". She had forgiven that, but had only recently become aware of racist comments that Court made in 1970 about apartheid. "Saying that South Africa dealt with the 'situation' much better than anywhere else in the world, particularly the US. What exactly did she mean by that?"

Court's comments, on a Christian radio programme, included a diatribe to the effect that transgender children were "all the devil", equating it to brainwashing: "That's all the devil . . . that's what Hitler did, and that is what Communism did . . . it got the mind of the children." She also claimed older female players lured young girls to tour parties to turn them into lesbians.

"Linking LGBT to Nazis, Communists, the devil? This is not okay," said Navratilova. "This is in fact sick and it is dangerous. Kids will suffer more because of this continuous bashing and stigmatising of our LGBT community."

Damningly, she added: "It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe. Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights . . . She is demonising trans kids and trans adults everywhere."

A boycott of the Australian Open has been mooted, but Tennis Australia declines to act. Andy Murray has rejected Court's stance, which is pertinent because he is a member of the ATP Player Council. It would be difficult for players to boycott a particular court during a Grand Slam, but he suggests they could collectively agree a position before the event.

Among my most treasured recollections is interviewing the grand-daughter of Jesse Owens and the son of Luz Long in the Berlin Olympic stadium where their forebears had duelled in 1936 for long jump gold in front of Hitler.

Owens seemed about to be eliminated when Long advised him to move his check mark back, and qualify safely. He did, and won the title – a snub to the Fuhrer's doctrine of Aryan supremacy.

"It was not a question of race, of being black and white," said Kai Long, whose father had won silver. "It was the normal attitude of pure, amateur sportsmen in those days . . . absolutely normal in old amateur sport to help one another.”

Owen’s granddaughter Marlene said: "I feel great that I’m sitting in the box where Hitler once was, enjoying time with the Long family, that Luz Long’s family and Jesse Owens’ family are here to be celebrated. And Hitler? Who?"

The two families remain in contact.

So heart-warming, yet racism and prejudice remain rife in sport. Old Firm religious bigotry was so endemic that when the first player of colour, Mark Walters, appeared for Rangers at Parkhead, the throwing of bananas went unnoticed, and unreported. Every country in Europe is on a football list of racist shame. We have had Chelsea captain John Terry fined £220,000 by the FA after calling Anton Ferdinand a "f****** black c***" during a match.

What has been described as "casual racism" is endemic in Aussie sport – often dismissed in cricket as "just sledging". But in England the likes of Yorkshire captain Andrew Gales was banned for four matches for racist comments – yet has since been appointed first-team coach.

Some 20 Muslim nations criminalise homosexual sex, and 11 of them – some of whom host ATP Tour events – impose the death penalty. Action against Court's views would be salutory, but it would then be logical to campaign against tournaments in countries which discriminate against the LGBT community. And for all sport bodies to act against countries who permit prejudice in any form.

This would change the world.