June 30, 2021

Dearest readers,

There has been a lot of opinions going around regarding celebrating Canada this July 1. I, like many Canadians, am hesitant to blow out the candles for our nation as we have been hit with hard truths this past year.

Today we are in the dark about some aspects of Canada’s true history, and deeply saddened by some recent events, such as; the findings of the graves of indigenous children in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, the terrorist attack on the Islamic family in London, Ontario, and the hate fueled attacks against our LGBTQ community during pride month. It is with a heavy, humbled heart, and awakened mind that we should approach Canada Day.

I have decided to position this month of ONcourt to adhere to the crucial awakening of the minds of my fellow Canadians and encourage growth and continued learning. This issue, we celebrate pride month, with a featured article from the WTA on LGBTQ’s tennis stars Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova with a foreward from Brandon Burke, player representative on the WTA board. We feature a video from Baseline Tennis, asking why more influencers within the tennis world don’t speak out on human rights issues. Also, an interview by All Canadian Sports Management’s Pierre Lamarche, with Issam Jellali, coach to Ons Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

It is our responsibility as Canadian citizens to see that actions are undertaken towards truth and reconciliation. Although we may celebrate being Canadian, lets do so by opening our humbled hearts, awakened minds, and  grow our beloved game as a nation.

Enjoy,

Laurence Lamarche, Executive Editor, ONcourt