Martina Navratilova: “I've always been political just by being a lesbian”
Martina Navratilova has reason to believe that she wasn't accepted by the market forces back in the day because of her sexual preference, after she came out as a lesbian in the year 1981.
Navratilova started playing tennis professionally in 1974. She competed on the women's singles circuit till 1994 and won a total of 18 Grand Slam singles titles.
However, Navratilova's personal life interested the world more than the professional one. According to the former World No. 1 herself, she also faced discrimination for being a lesbian.
In the latest episode of the On with Kara Swisher podcast, she stated that she wasn't the first choice of advertisers despite being an elite tennis player.
"You know, I've always been political just by being a lesbian. That's a political statement too, apparently, and coming from a communist country. So, I never had a chance one way or the other on Madison Avenue. And that's okay," she said.
The Czech-American, however, talked about receiving an offer from Olivia Cruises, a travel company catering to the traveling needs of lesbians exclusively.
"I actually got a deal because I am a lesbian with Olivia Cruises. This is back in the, like 20 years ago in the 2000s. But other than that, I don't think it's been a plus or minus one way or the other. I'm too political to be embraced by Madison Avenue," Martina Navratilova added.
Martina Navratilova: "I would love to do a commercial with Chris Evert"
Martina Navratilova further expressed her annoyance over former female tennis players not getting picked to do commercials. She also expressed her wish to feature in a couple of advertisements with her rival-turned-friend Chris Evert.
"What does bother me is that there are so few former female athletes that are on TV commercials. You see a lot of guys, a lot of guys, but the women, it's pretty, it's pretty small field. I would love to do a commercial for luggage with Chris [Evert]," Navratilova said.
The 67-year-old is of the opinion that she and Evert are a great fit for promoting home essentials, seeing as they are both in good shape even now.
"We're perfect for our home exercise equipment, you know, something. We are perfect because we're both in good shape. And it's actually, we would be the proper demographic for people that buy that stuff for their home," she added.
Martina Navratilova also joked about appointing a new agent, saying:
"I think I need a new agent or a different agent. My agent is fantastic. She gets me speeches, but this is not her. This is not her cup of tea."