Martina Navratilova is a Czech-American tennis player and anti-transgender activist.
Navratilova is a sex segregationist whose primary concern is maintaining segregationism that keeps women and girls in inferior roles in society. Of particular interest is maintaining women’s subordinate place via sex-segregated competitive sport, primarily by attacking transgender athletes.
Background
Martina Šubertová was born October 18, 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to an athletic family. Martina’s stepparent Miroslav Navrátil coached Martina in tennis. Martina took that surname and went pro in 1975. Navratilova dominated professional tennis for the next three decades and is considered on of the greatest players of all time.
Navratilova was coached for a time by trans athlete Renée Richards.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2019, Navratilova made a number of comments about trans athletes that led to LGBT organizations cutting ties.
Navratilova is a member of the anti-trans organization Women’s Sports Policy Working Group and has published anti-trans views on social media and in anti-trans publications, including Quillette, The Times, and BBC.
References
Masters, James (February 18, 2019). Martina Navratilova criticized over ‘transphobic’ comments. CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/18/tennis/martina-navratilova-trans-women-comments-spt-scli-intl/index.html
Padgett, Donald (July 12, 2023). Megan Rapinoe and Martina Navratilova Spar Over Trans Women in Sports. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/sports/megan-rapinoe-martina-navratilova-transgender
Navratilova, Martina (February 17, 2019). The rules on trans athletes reward cheats and punish the innocent. The Times [Archive] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-rules-on-trans-athletes-reward-cheats-and-punish-the-innocent-klsrq6h3x
Staff report (February 20, 2019). LGBT group severs links with Navratilova over transgender comments. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47301007
Hoffman, Joanna (February 19, 2019). Athlete Ally: Navratilova’s Statements Transphobic and Counter to our Work, Vision and Values. New York: Athlete Ally. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
Staff report (March 3, 2019). Martina Navratilova sorry for transgender ‘cheat’ language as she re-enters debate. BBC Sport https://www.bbc.com/sport/47433144
Coleman, Doriane; Navratilova, Martina; Richards-Ross, Sanya (April 29, 2019). Opinion: Pass the Equality Act, but don’t abandon Title IX. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/pass-the-equality-act-but-dont-abandon-title-ix/2019/04/29/2dae7e58-65ed-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html
Coleman, Doriane; Navratilova, Martina (November 29, 2021). On the Issue of Female Athletics, the IOC Has Shirked Its Duty to Lead. Quillette https://quillette.com/2021/11/29/on-the-issue-of-female-athletics-the-ioc-has-shirked-its-duty-to-lead/
Navratilova, Martina (June 26, 2019). The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova. BBC One https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00069nr/the-trans-women-athlete-dispute-with-martina-navratilova
Assunção, Muri. Martina Navratilova signs letter supporting Idaho law that limits transgender student athletes. NY Daily News https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-martina-navratilova-supports-idaho-anti-transgender-sports-bill-20200804-5rbbp2kptfc27l7ybgwamzhhpu-story.html
Meet the Working Group. Women’s Sports Policy Working Group https://womenssportspolicy.org/about-us/#working-group
Brennan, Christine (February 1, 2021). Sports leaders seek to protect women’s sports while accommodating transgender girls and women. USA Today. Retrieved June 5, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2021/02/01/group-protect-womens-sports-accommodate-transgender-athletes/4345854001/
Resources
Martina Navratilova (martinanavratilova.com)
Women’s Sports Policy Working Group (womenssportspolicy.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Top Court (topcourt.com)