TENNIS Australia must have known it would have to navigate some choppy waters as it paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of Margaret Court's grand slam triumph.
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But it had every right to hope the turbulence wouldn't come from within.
Former greats John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova this week staged their own protest against Ms Court's conservative (indeed, outdated) views on same-sex marriage and transgender people, calling for her name to be dropped from Margaret Court Arena.
And it came after Mr McEnroe had earlier labelled Ms Court Tennis Australia's "crazy aunt", saying: "There's only one thing longer than the list of Margaret Court's tennis achievements. It's her list of offensive and homophobic statements."
Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, and whether or not you believe Margaret Court Arena should be renamed, no one could deny two of tennis' greatest ever players are more than entitled to their opinion.
But the pair have done the sport that brought them such fame and fortune, their many fans and indeed the Australian Open a great disservice by choosing to express it in such a way.
As superstars of the game, both Mr McEnroe and Ms Navratilova had ample opportunity - and ample access to a hungry media - to get across their views without hijacking one of tennis' four major events.
It's also hard to see what they might have hoped to achieve from such a public and inflammatory stance; if anything, they have probably harmed their cause.
Tennis Australia had already indicated it was unlikely to seriously consider renaming Margaret Court Arena and now, having been backed into a corner by two of tennis' best, has no choice but to restate that position.
And, when all's said and done, that is really fair enough.
Margaret Court Arena has not been named to celebrate Ms Court's political or social views, and the same goes for Rod Laver Arena.
Rather, they have been named to recognise Australia's two greatest tennis champions and nothing either has done or said in the past 50 years should change that.
Tennis Australia has made clear its position on Margaret Court's views and that's the best it can do in this situation.
We do not have to agree with everything Margaret Court says or believes to celebrate her incredible sporting achievements.