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Martina Navratilova vs. transgender people

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.

Navratilova has written for anti-trans publications, including hate group Genspect, Quillette, and Independent Women’s Forum.

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 one 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, including Athlete Ally.

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

Zirin, Dave (April 9, 2025). Martina Stands with Monsters. The Progressive Magazine https://progressive.org/magazine/martina-stands-with-monsters-zirin-20250409/

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

Brennan, Christine (February 1, 2021). Sports leaders seek to protect women’s sports while accommodating transgender girls and women. USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2021/02/01/group-protect-womens-sports-accommodate-transgender-athletes/4345854001/

Assunção, Muri (August 4, 2020). 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

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

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.

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

Anti-trans coverage

Tupy, Marian L. (March 8, 2019). Martina Navratilova, Who Beat Communism And Owned Tennis, Got Eaten By The Transgender Mob. The Federalist https://thefederalist.com/2019/03/08/martina-navratilova-beat-communism-owned-tennis-got-eaten-transgender-mob/

Lowry, Rich (April 15, 2023). Lowry: Women’s sports suffer in Title IX expansion. Boston Globe https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/04/15/lowry-womens-sports-suffer-in-title-ix-expansion/

Selected writing by Navratilova

Navratilova, Martina (August 19, 2024). We Need to Refer to Male Athletes as Male. Independent Women’s Forum https://www.independentwomen.com/2024/08/19/we-need-to-refer-to-male-athletes-as-male/

Navratilova, Martina (August 30, 2023). Five Years Later: What I’ve Learned About Women and Men in Sports. Genspect https://genspect.org/martina-navratilova-five-years-later/

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/

Coleman, Doriane; Eastwood, Juniper; Navratilova, Martina (April 5, 2021). N.C. bill goes too far in banning transgender girls from female sports. There are options. Charlotte Observer https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article250396106.html#storylink=mainstage

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

Navratilova, Martina (February 17, 2019). The rules on trans athletes reward cheats and punish the innocent. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-rules-on-trans-athletes-reward-cheats-and-punish-the-innocent-klsrq6h3x

Media

On with Kara Swisher and Martina Navratilova (November 30, 2023). Martina Navratilova On Why She Keeps Talking About Trans Women in Sports: The tennis legend discusses her stance on the issue with Kara Swisher. New York Magazine https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/11/on-with-kara-swisher-navratilova-on-trans-women-in-sports.html

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

Resources

Martina Navratilova (martinanavratilova.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Women’s Sports Policy Working Group (womenssportspolicy.org)

Instagram (instagram.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Top Court (topcourt.com)

Quillette (quillette.com)