“Not the place for any failed male athlete,” Martina Navratilova seethes with anger as five transwomen gain entry into a soccer team threatening to fine ciswomen players instead

Former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova comes down hard on soccer event organizers in Australia, where the title-winning team featured five transwomen.

“Not the place for any failed male athlete,” Martina Navratilova seethes with anger as five transwomen gain entry into a soccer team threatening to fine ciswomen players instead

Martina Navratilova (Image via: Imago)

Former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova continues to voice her opinion on the inclusion of transwomen in women’s sports. The American has been quite vocal on the issue and has often had meltdowns via her tweets as well. A similar case was the case over a recent incident in Australia. 

At the Beryl Ackroyd Cup in north-west Sydney, the winning team, The Flying Bats, featured five transwomen. Although the tournament was a pre-season event, the organizers came under heavy fire due to their policy.

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With rising protests by ciswomen to oppose the inclusion of transwomen, many of them forfeit without playing. To avoid it, the organizers of the Beryl Ackroyd Cup decided to impose heavy fines on any player threatening to forfeit over this issue.

As a result, the players had to reluctantly play, despite many of them feeling it was an unfair advantage to the Flying Bats. The team eventually won the finals 4-0, a convincing win at the tournament. But the circumstances led to massive outrage, especially on the internet. This eventually caught Navratilova‘s attention. 

The 18-time singles Grand Slam title winner has been an openly lesbian athlete since the 1980s and has faced a lot of backlash for it. Despite that, she has remained of the opinion that sports should be kept separate, irrespective of gender identity. She reiterated her stand on the incident in Sydney. 

Been angry for years now- the unfairness is off the charts. I will say it again- keep women’s sports female. It is not the place for any (failed) male athletes
Tweeted Navratilova.

Martina Navratilova calls for ‘STOP’ on any attempt at inclusion in sports

Navratilova had recently made another strong statement about inclusion in sports. In an attempt by the ‘Play the Game‘ organization, they looked to create a benchmark for tolerable fairness. The objective remained to ensure that inclusion in women’s sports is fair and doesn’t give any unwarranted advantage to trans-athletes.

Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova (Via Imago)

Navratilova was still not impressed with the motive. She remained adamant that sports be kept free of any type of inclusion. Her biggest point has remained that, despite the switch in gender identity, the hormonal structure doesn’t change and the difference in strength remains the same. 

There is no such thing as Tolerable Unfairness! Stop making it about non- females when it comes to female sports!!! We are sick of it! Also- there is plenty of robust data- it’s called records and results and different %s of male advantage for different sports. Just stop it!
Tweeted Navratilova.

While this debate looks never-ending, Navratilova has not backed out at all. She has remained vocal and looks to keep her stand firm in protest. On the WTA Tour in tennis, so far, there has been no such reported incident. When it happens, what stand would Navratilova take? Only time will tell. 

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