Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has said she has been “dismissed” by much of the LGBT community for speaking out in the debate over trans women competing in women’s sport.
The nine-time Wimbledon champion, who is gay, admitted he has been through “difficult” times but vowed to “keep fighting” to protect women’s sport and single-sex spaces.
“I’ve been rejected by many groups in the LGBT community, but as you know, I’ve been speaking my mind for a long time and I’m not going to change that,” he said.
‘Yes, it has been quite hard. But I know I’m on the right side of history. I’m right with most people’s opinion about female spaces based on sex, and especially in sports. “They need to continue being women.”
She warned that the issue had become “very political” and said trans rights were being put “ahead of the rights of women, particularly men who identify as women”.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova admitted she went through “difficult” times but vowed to “keep fighting” for women’s sports.
The 67-year-old tennis player is a nine-time Wimbledon champion.
Navratilova said: “Many groups in the LGBT community have abandoned me”
Participants in the Pride parade in London on June 29
The 67-year-old added: “Women are asked to be kind and inclusive, but by including transgender-identified men in women’s sports, you are excluding women.”
‘Anyway, it’s a long story. I won’t go into too much detail. Yeah, it’s been pretty tough on the LGBT community.’
The star spoke on the eve of this year’s Championship at a press conference with his former rival Chris Evert.
The tennis greats, who said they became close friends after contracting cancer at the same time, are working together on a new documentary.
“Cancer brought us a lot closer, which is a little ironic that something like this is in some ways a blessing,” Ms Navratilova said.