Martina Navratilova frustrated by 'smug' trans woman powerlifter mocking female athletes in the sport
Martina Navratilova has come out in criticism of transgender athlete Anne Andres, who is Alberta Canada's women's powerlifting record holder in bench.
In a video posted earlier this year, Andres was seen mocking biologically female powerlifters, saying that they were "so bad" at bench and that they could barely lift more than what her son could lift while weighing just 45 pounds at the time.
"Why is women's bench so bad? I mean, not compared to me. We are not talking about Mackenzie lee, she's got little T-rex arms and she's like 400 pounds of chest muscle. I mean, standard bench in powerlifting competitions for women, I literally don't understand why it is so bad," Andres said.
"My son, he weighs 45 pounds, his max bench is 33. Legit see some women in competition who do something like 50 pounds and I just don't understand it," she added.
Navratilova reshared the video on November 7, sharing her frustration at how "smug" Andres sounded in the clip.
"He is so smug, isn’t he?" Navratilova wrote.
Navratilova has been a lifelong proponent for the exclusion of transgender women from women's sports and has urged many sports bodies around the world, including the WTA, to protect biological females and offer them a safe space.
Martina Navratilova: "I am happy to address a transgender woman in whatever form she prefers, but I would not be happy to compete against her"
Speaking in an article she had written for The Times a while back, Martina Navratilova made clear her stance on the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports.
While the 18-time Grand Slam champion emphasized that she did not have any problem with addressing trans women in general, she did not think it was fair for them to compete alongside biological women.
In Navratilova's eyes, it was "insane" and akin to "cheating," as the American believed it was easy for a man to decide to be a female, win everything in sight and then go back to being a male again after a while.
"To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organization is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desires," Martina Navratilova said.
"It's insane and it's cheating. I am happy to address a transgender woman in whatever form she prefers, but I would not be happy to compete against her. It would not be fair," she added.