“You are a vile person and you should be ashamed” Martina Navratilova criticized for her ‘xenophobic’ comments on social media
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Martina Navratilova - FirstSportz
The nominees for the 2022 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award has been officially unveiled by the ATP. The list includes many well-known players in the tennis community such as Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Cameron Norrie, Frances Tiafoe, Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini, and Felix Auger Aliassime amongst others. However, one important name is missing from the list- the Serbian legend Novak Djokovic.
Many social media users commented upon the wrongful exclusion of the Serb from the list of nominees, eliciting a plethora of criticism online. However, Former Australian player Rennae Stubbs thinks that it is the right decision.
“nothing to do with that. Novak is not a great sport on court, he’s been defaulted, broken racquets, etc. among other things. He’s absolutely a gracious loser, I’ll give him that, but this award is for sportsmanship on and off court. So don’t make this about anything but that,” she wrote on Twitter in reply to a social media user who had made comments on her.
Following this, many Twitter users began to provide their take on her replies.
“Yeah he does stuff like this, absolutely! So do A LOT OF PLAYERS! he also has outbursts on court! Smashed the net at the French Open, threw his racquet that almost hit a ball kid in Serbia. I could go on but it’s pointless with you Stans! U see gold toilets with ur hero’s!” she replied to another user.
However, things took a different turn altogether when Martina Navratilova jumped into the discussion and replied with the following caption.
“Can’t make this crap up… you are very patient Rennae!” the Czech-born American’s caption read.
This was followed by another comment from Rennae Stubbs to which the former World No. 1 replied in the following manner.
“Difficult to talk to people when they don’t speak English very well… yet attack what you said in English…,” the 59-time Grand Slam champion wrote in reply to the former Australian player’s comments.
For those uninitiated, Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award is given every year to the player who has displayed fairness on the court. Respecting one’s opponent(s), rules, and umpire’s decisions are important considerations in choosing the winner of this prestigious award. The players themselves vote for the recipient of this award.
Roger Federer has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award a record 13 times throughout his career. He is followed by Rafael Nadal who has won it four times.
Also Read: “It’s wrong and it’s dangerous,” Mats Wilander responds to Holger Rune’s next season ambition
Social Media is criticizing both Martina Navratilova and Rennae Stubbs for their views
Martina Navratilova has always been vocal on social media. She expresses her opinions on Twitter on a range of issues that may perturb her.
The nine-time Wimbledon champion has also got immense support for her tweets in the past. She had pointed out Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks earlier which led to Adidas severing all ties with the American rapper. The 21-time Tour Finals (now known as WTA Finals) winner also commented upon Elon Musk’s hypocritical remarks and Former President Donald Trump’s opinions.
However, this time Martina Navratilova is not getting the kind of response she might have expected. Many social media users are commenting negatively on her views on her Twitter handle. Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here are a few reactions coming in on the post above.
Martina Navratilova may have won many titles on the court. However, she had been at the center of many controversies for her views throughout her career. But she is brave enough to take any criticism head-on and hence, it can be expected that she will come out of this soon.
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