Tennis legend Martina Navratilova told Democrats to ‘grow a spine’ after voting against trans ban law
Former women’s tennis star Martina Navratilova weighed Tuesday’s vote on the Law on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports in the House of Representatives. The Republican majority voted unanimously to pass the bill, but only two Democratic members of the House of Representatives voted for it, while the rest did not.
Navratilova has also taken a strong stance against trans inclusion in women’s and women’s sports while previously criticizing her democratic representatives for support. That criticism continued Tuesday in a series of posts on X.
“Shame on the Democrats who really don’t care about women, girls and their safety, fairness,” she wrote in response to the news that only two House Democrats voted for the bill.
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Americans Andrea Jaeger, left, and Martina Navratilova hold bouquets after the women’s singles final at Wimbledon in London. Navratilova won the title in two sets: 6-0, 6-3. (Bettmann via Getty Images)
In another post, Navratilova insisted that there must be more than two members of the Democratic House of Representatives who oppose trans inclusion and that those members need to “grow a spine.”
“More Democrats need to step up here. I know many who agree but are afraid to speak up for re-election. I say do the right thing. Grow a spine,” she wrote.
This is not the first time that Navratilova has torn the left over different views on the issue.
In a December post on X, tennis legend she said she was “crazy” that Republicans were tackling the nationwide controversy rather than Democrats, the party she joined.
Tennis Channel’s Martina Navratilova plays pickleball during a promotional match while playing PPA player, Jay Devilliers of France on Day 13 of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 7, 2024 in Paris. (Fred Mullane/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
“And I’m so angry that the Republicans have seized on this issue – shame on all the elected Democrats who are silent on this!” she wrote.
The tennis legend appeared at the Independent Women’s Forum’s “Bring Back Title IX” rally in June as she and other prominent female athletes pushed back against demands from the Biden administration Rewrite Title IX.
There, she shared her experience of being attacked by other liberals for her stance on trans inclusion.
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Martina Navratilova, Czech-American former professional tennis player, speaks during a joint press conference with Chris Evert of the USA, on Day 5 of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun 2023 part of the Hologic WTA Tour, November 2, 2023 in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Now it’s, ‘Oh, you’re a homophobe.’ Look, I’ve been out since ’81, yes, I’m homophobic,” she said. “‘You’re a bigot, you’re a transphobe, you’re a Nazi, you’re a fascist, you’re a communist,’ anything and everything in between. And this is coming from the left. I’m on the left! My people are turning against us women, who stand up for women’s rights.”
Before that, Navratilova called the Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo, who competed as a trans woman at the Paralympics, a “pathetic cheater”. In March, she submitted a request for “keep women’s sports women’s.”
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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