Tennis legend Martina Navratilova says Donald Trump is right to ban transgender athletes from competing in female sports – though she disagrees with him on ‘everything’ else.
Navratilova, 68, has long voiced her opposition to transgender sportspeople coming against biological females, calling them ‘failed male athletes’ – despite being subjected to stinging attacks as a result.
In February, Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from women’s sports called ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’.
That has strong permutations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as the Department of Homeland Security has been ordered to ‘reject any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying as women athletes’.
Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon champion who is also lesbian and previously said she was ‘jettisoned’ by the LGTB community for her views, is in support.
‘I disagree with Trump on everything but this issue… and for that I am called a Nazi homophobe… bigot… the Democrats dropped the ball, Republicans ran with it, and it’s a popular issue,’ she told The Daily T.
Donald Trump is right to ban trans women from female sports, says Martina Navratilova
Tennis legend Navratilova has been a vocal critic of trans athletes facing biological women
In February, President Trump signed an executive order to ‘Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports’
‘And Democrats are still doubling down. They’re still not changing their mind.
‘But Trump is right on this. There should be no males in women’s sports, period – pun kind of intended. Because it’s obviously not fair.’
Last week, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex in a landmark judgement, which sparked widespread applause as well as protests.
In an 88-page ruling, the Supreme Court justices said: ‘The definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010 makes clear that the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man.’
The impact on sport could be seismic, as trans women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if ‘proportionate’.
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner told BBC Radio 4 that trans women would not be able to participate in women’s sport.
There were calls amongst the LGBT+ community to ‘amplify trans voices’ and warnings that Britain was ‘following in the footsteps of Trump’s America’ after judges decided the definition of sex in the Equality Act is binary.
The likes of broadcaster India Willoughby, Drag Race UK stars Tayce and Tia Kofi and leading LGBT+ charities spoke out after the judgement was handed down.
Many campaigners welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex
Lord Hodge said that five Supreme Court justices had unanimously decided that ‘the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act refer to a ‘biological woman and biological sex’
The case centred on whether somebody with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act
However, protestors gathered in Westminster to hit out against the landmark ruling
Broadcaster and Loose Women co-host India Willoughby said the ruling marked a ‘dark day’ for the transgender community
Former tennis champion and BBC Wimbledon presenter Sue Barker has previously voiced support for Navratilova’s position
In December The Lawn Tennis Association banned trans women from national tournaments, but competitions such as Wimbeldon and Queen’s come under international guidelines on gender.
Navratilova hit out: ‘I’ve been talking to those bodies and they just do not listen.
‘Wimbledon, the Lawn Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation and the Association of Tennis Professionals – it’s a moving target, they keep changing the rules.
‘Just say female only, and you take a simple cheek swab test to prove you’re female and you’re done for the rest of your life.’
Navratilova has support within her beloved sport.
Wimbledon and BBC legend Sue Barker has also backed a ban on self-identified trans women competing against biological females.
She told The Telegraph last year: ‘I just think you take away the young girls’ dreams, so I am definitely with Navratilova.’
