Tennis legend Martina Navratilova responded to a journalist who called her “transphobic” on Friday while campaigning with the Independent Women's Forum as part of its “Take Back Title IX” initiative.
Ben Rothenberg, a tennis journalist who now hosts a podcast and wrote a biography of Naomi Osaka, offered his opinion on Navratilova's involvement in the women's organization after the group's bus was vandalized in North Carolina.
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Martina Navratilova plays pickleball during a French Open promotional match at Roland Garros on June 7, 2024 in Paris. (Fred Mullane/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
“It is disheartening that Martina Navratilova has made this anti-trans crusade her life's obsession in recent years!” Rothenberg wrote. “And she turns it into much more transphobic vitriol than just talking about sports equity, as I've discussed before, being just nasty and cruel and dehumanizing. Boo.”
Navratilova responded later Friday night.
“Yet another man telling women what they should care about,” Navratilova wrote. “And who exactly are you? Oh yeah, the reporter who tells tennis players it's off the record and then publishes what they said anyway. It's good to know you care about women's sports and based spaces in women's sex.
Rothenberg responded to Navratilova.
“I've never done that. But I also care about someone who was a beacon of freedom and inclusion in the sport I've covered and who unfortunately chose to erode the platform he built with cyberbullying campaigns targeting unknown, low-level amateur athletes. Hopefully “You were better than that.”
Navratilova apparently took issue with the claim that she was “cyberstalking.”
Martina Navratilova during the trophy presentation, which she presented together with Chris Evert, after the women's singles final on Court Philippe-Chatrier of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 8, 2024, in Paris. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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“Cyberbullying, wow. I'm blocking you once and for all. FYI, I'm doing a lot more than just tweeting. You can leave now. I hope to see your nasty self at Wimbledon, if you're there.”
Navratilova is a pioneer in the gay and lesbian community and in women's tennis. She has advocated for justice in women's sports amid the debate over transgender participation.
Last year he applauded World Athletics for developing an open category for transgender athletes. She wrote in an op-ed that it was a “step in the right direction.”
“In the wake of the World Athletics announcement, I think the best idea would be to have 'female biological' and 'female biological' categories and then an 'open' category,” he wrote. “It would be a category for all participants: men who identify as men; women who identify as women; women who identify as men; men who identify as women; non-binary; it would be a wild card. This is already being explored in athletics and swimming in Great Britain.
Martina Navratilova receives flowers during the Italian international tennis matches at the Foro Italico in Rome, May 21, 2023. (Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
“Biological women are more likely to compete in the biological female category, as it is their best chance of winning and maintains the principle of fairness. In an 'open' category there are no question marks, no conditions, no asterisks, no doubts .It is a simple solution.
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“Once someone has gone through male puberty, there is no way to erase that physical advantage. You can't just turn back the clock, for example, by trying to reduce testosterone levels.”
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