"What is wrong with you guys???" - Martina Navratilova slams Gymnastics Australia for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s category
Martina Navratilova has continued to voice her opposition to the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's categories in different sports and, this time, called out Gymnastics Australia.
The Czech-American tennis legend slammed Australia's top gymnastics organization for changing rules to allow transgender and gender-diverse people to compete in all community gymnastics events.
Moreover, the guidelines affirm that athletes can participate in whichever category best reflects their gender identity, meaning transgender athletes will be allowed to compete alongside biological females in women's categories.
After learning about these changes, Navratilova took to Twitter to express her frustration. She warned Gymnastics Australia that these "inclusion" tactics would not work well and accused them of turning their backs on girls and women athletes.
The 66-year-old argued that the change would exclude biological women and most young girls from fair competition.
"To say this won’t end well is an understatement. To say Gymnastics Australia just threw females and girls under the bus is an understatement. What is wrong with you guys??? This “inclusion” actually will EXCLUDE biological women and most of all girls. #whataboutthegirls ???" Navratilova tweeted.
These comments align with Navratilova's long-held belief that women's categories in any sport should exclusively be for biological women athletes.
Martina Navratilova calls out US Interior Secretary's interview with drag queen
Martina Navratilova recently took issue with the US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's interview with drag queen Pattie Gonia. The interview was conducted before New York's Stonewall National Monument, the first American national monument dedicated to LGBT rights and history.
Gonia spoke about the importance of Stonewall in the fight for LGBTQ rights and the significance of remembering those struggles in light of the recent attack on the rights of queer people.
"I think it’s because queer rights are more under attack than ever. And I think if we don’t acknowledge the past, we’re bound to repeat. So, at a place like Stonewall, this beautiful place, it’s a place where so much discrimination and hatred occurred against the queer community, but it’s also a place where resistance and queer joy and queer liberation happened," Gonia said.
After the interview, Martina Navratilova was left in disbelief and called it out for making fun of womanhood. She dubbed the conversation a "joke."
"Is this a joke? The pathetic parody of women continues," she commented.
The 18-time singles Grand Slam champion also responded to the backlash she received for her comment. Navratilova highlighted for her long-standing commitment to promoting women's rights after being dubbed a "bigoted Karen" and accused of benefitting from the efforts of others, including trans activists.
"Lol! Really? And which people would that be? Because I was on the frontline before there was a frontline. And you will never convince me to stop fighting for equal rights for women- thank you," she responded.