Martina Navratilova forced to defend herself over criminalizing trans people after calling Republican Congressman Mike Johnson a ‘FASCIST’ 

Martina Navratilova reinstated her stance on the much-debated topic about inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports.

Martina Navratilova forced to defend herself over criminalizing trans people after calling Republican Congressman Mike Johnson a ‘FASCIST’ 

Mike Johnson, Martina Navratilova (Images via Rolling Stone/The New York Times)

American tennis legend Martina Navratilova found herself in hot waters after she called Republican Congressman and America’s new House Speaker Mike Johnson a fascist based on his stance against homosexuals and LGBTQ+ people. The former World No.1 player then had to defend herself as she was reminded about her stance about trans women and trans athletes in general. 

It is worth mentioning that Navratilova has openly opposed the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports, calling it blatant cheating. Time and again she has reiterated that trans women should not compete in the same bracket as women athletes because the former have an added physical advantage.

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Meanwhile, her calling Mike Johnson a fascist for favoring the criminalization of same-sex marriage and relationships and being against the LGBTQ+ community raised eyebrows with people sensing hypocrisy. As Navratilova shared a thread on X exposing how Johnson is fascist, a user asked where should one draw a line (referring to her asking to not include trans women in women’s sports). The user then said that marginalizing anyone is cruel.

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But you want to criminalize trans folks in sport. Where’s the line? Is it only bad if it affects you personally? Seriously asking. I think marginalizing anyone is cruel and bad. 
The user asked Navratilova on X. 

Martina Navratilova explains how her stance about trans athletes is not fascism

This accusation led to a strong reply from Martina Navratilova, who explained her stance on trans athletes. The former tennis ace said that she just wants male athletes to compete in the men’s category and female athletes in the women’s category. She also put emphasis on the fact that she does not compete anymore, so such a demand has no personal benefit for her. 

Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova (Image via ABC News)
I want male bodies to compete in the male category. Is that criminalizing? Really? Can you explain? And btw- I don’t compete, so it doesn’t affect me at all. I am speaking for fairness for those who still compete and can’t speak up.
Martina Navratilova replied

When the user tried to deviate from the accusation made above by saying that they just wanted all marginalized people to be protected, Navratilova reminded them about the accusation made. She then defended her stance on trans athletes by stating that she is protecting women’s sports and helping women survive any sort of victimization.

The 67-year-old shut the critic and once again reinstated her clear stance on the much-debated topic in the world of sports.

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