Martina Navratilova ripped those on the left who continue to push for transgender inclusion in women’s sports at an event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
The tennis legend appeared at the Independent Women’s Forum’s « Take Back Title IX » rally as she and other prominent women’s athletes pushed back on the Biden administration’s Title IX rewrite.
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Tennis legend Martina Navratilova looks on during the trophy presentations, which she presented along with Chris Evert, after the Women’s Singles Final on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the 2024 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 8, 2024 in Paris. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Navratilova said initially that she and her fellow Democrats tried every which way to make the playing field fair for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. However, when she did more research into that notion, she determined it was an impossible task.
« Initially, being the Democrats and the women that we are for the most part, we in this group were trying to find every single possible way to include trans-identified men, males who identify as women, into women’s sports, » she said. « And the more we try to find a way to mitigate the advantage, to handicap, to somehow to include, the more we figured out it’s not possible. It’s not possible to do it in a fair way and here we are in a much different position.
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Martina Navratilova speaks during a join press conference with Chris Evert of the USA, on Day 5 of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun 2023 part of the Hologic WTA Tour on Nov. 2, 2023, in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
« As I got deeper into the issue, I also saw the connection between women’s sex-based spaces and women’s sports – they are totally interconnected, and I’m sure the swimmers at Penn could tell you all about that. You heard about Lia Thomas, right? »
Navratilova said men are still making rules for women, especially when it comes to women’s sports and protecting sex-based spaces. Any kind of pushback from women gets met with nasty names and threats.
To put the cherry on top, Navratilova said, it’s coming from those on the left.
« Now, it’s, ‘Oh, you’re a homophobe.’ Go figure. I’ve been out since ’81, yeah, I’m a homophobe, » she said, rolling her eyes. « ‘You’re a bigot, you’re a transphobe, you’re a Nazi, you’re a fascist, you’re a communist,’ everything and everything in between. And this is coming from the left. I am the left! My people are turning on me. They’re turning on us, women, who speak up for women’s sex-based rights. »
She urged those in the audience and her supporters to speak out for their daughters who are involved in these types of things.
The former Czech tennis player Martina Navratilova receives flowers during the Italian tennis internationals at the Foro Italico in Rome on May 21, 2023. (Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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« We really want a level playing field when we are competing, » she said. « We need the same people that supported Title IX or that would support Title IX in its original form to speak up now. »
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