Independent thought by women must be punished

No I think harassment is against the law as is incitement to commit murder. And I wouldn't insult my boss but that doesn't mean I don't or shouldn't have the right to. The examples you give of people losing their jobs or friends for expressing opinions only show that speech isn't always free, not that it shouldn't be. You cannot tell people they can only express their opinions and beliefs if they are prepared to risk their wellbeing and still call it free speech - that is a nonsense.

You don't have to support free speech but you can't change the definition of it to suit your purposes.

Ugh shoot not shout

@quesnofknives Sorry, what you're saying is just not true. You can support freedom of speech without supporting it absolutely, in every case. Or do you support the right of people to harass their neighbours on the grounds of colour or sexuality? Or to call for others to be killed?
Anyway, expressing opinions has always carried consequences. You can lose friends, be frozen out of work networks, businesses get boycotted etc. Tell your boss they're a twat and see how far you get, even if it's true.

It should be “freedom of speech does not mean freedom from disagreement”

“Consequences“ is too vague and allows in possibilities like “your speech is free even if you know I’ll shout you if you say the wrong thing”.

Freedom of speech MUST mean freedom from consequences. If there are consequences of speech then it's not free. People are either free to say what they think or not. You can't say you support free speech but you think there should be consequences for it. Sorry but that's just nonsense.

Apologies, I'm perhaps too used to people framing one part of the truth to influence others in a particular direction.
You're making two points I think- on the one hand I agree women receive more abuse on SM than men, and women more generally are held to a double standard regarding behaviour, including (especially?) athletes.
On the specific point of Margaret Court- I do agree with free speech and worry about cancel culture, academic freedom, and the horrific abuse people receive on Twitter for voicing any sort of opinion. However, I don't believe freedom of speech should mean freedom from consequences- the question is whether Court's views and the image that projects to young tennis players outweigh her exploits on the court. I am neither Australian nor a tennis fan so don't care either way really, but I can understand why Navratilova and others might think the stadium naming an undeserved honour.

You're being silly now where did I say anything about people deserving to have achievements taken away from them?

Having a building named after you isn't an achievement. It's done as an honour or a sign of respect for the person. A person who is not longer worthy of that honour or respect should have their name removed.

Yes, it is vile to appose same sex marriage and it's vile to make the kinds of homophobic comments she makes. Religion is no excuse for that. Trotting out the other religious people who have the same beliefs doesn't make those beliefs any more okay.

And do we have any male champions with their names on somewhere who've consistently said such disgusting things? I don't have a wide knowledge of tennis players and their records for being homophobic. But we need an equally famous male player making similar comments to exist before we can compare whether people have discussed removing his name or not.

There was a link in the article to another where Martina was mentioned as also stating she felt the name should be changed. So it may be that the trans element has been added in after the campaign began. Andy Murray may not be aware that he is now advocating for men in women’s tennis.

Oh FFS...

I'm not a fan of cancel culture but I think the OP is being disingenuous here so I wanted to point out a few other things:

1. The campaign to rename the stadium is also supported by Maria Navratilova, who has herself questioned and opposed trans athletes in women's sport.
2. Court's views also included support for apartheid in South Africa.
3. She doesn't just oppose gay marriage- she once said it was a shame Navratilova was so good at tennis because it exposed children to homosexuality.
4. She isn't just a retired tennis player being cancelled for expressing her own private opinions in a public forum, but someone with a weekly Christian TV show and president of her own network of Churches, who regularly makes public pronouncements on moral issues (whilst also bemoaning that she is being silenced).

Whether any of the above means the stadium should be renamed is up for debate, but I think it's good to have the whole picture.

I don't give a fuck what someone's opinions are unless we are celebrating them specifically for their opinions. We can celebrate sporting prowess and achievement in its own right. If we are giving a prize for 'best all-round human' then maybe we'd take a view. But if we are celebrating someone's achievements in a specific field, then their weaknesses elsewhere don't need to be considered.

I think that means we have to accept that we will celebrate individuals for their greatness in one sphere even while acknowledging their failings in other spheres. Having opinions that a lot of people disagree with or even find offensive isn't a reason to cancel someone.

I think it’s a bit of a reach to describe homophobia and some of the related comments this woman has made as “independent thought”. How vile are women allowed to be before we stop defending them just because men get away with worse? That’s a genuine question.

The bar of what women have to do to get cancelled is set at ankle level. For men, it's about 7 feet high.

The bar of what women have to do to get cancelled is set at ankle level. For men, it's about 7 feet high.

Nailed it

Most elite athletes are arseholes, because they only succeed though ruthless focus on their own goals, and everyone else is pushed aside. But it's only women who are punished for this - or for wrong think

Yeah. Look at Djokovic (sp?) - his anger issues put a lineswoman at risk of serious injury and he set up an international tennis players' group which specifically excluded women.

But is he cancelled or punished in this way?

Well a FTM is going to be no threat to male tennis, MTF players will affcet womens tennis. I thought Murray was a friend and advocate to women but seens the trans agenda trumps that.

You only need to look at Twitter to see men can say whatever they like. Especially if it's anti women.