When it comes to displaying sportsmanlike conduct, you'd think that a world-champion tennis player like Martina Navratilova would be a class act. The fact of the matter is that this particular sportswoman, unfortunately, suffers from such a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) that she is harming her own efforts to protect women's sports. I need to call out Martina Navratilova for her decidedly unsportsmanlike conduct.
A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through X when a tweet from Navratilova caught my eye. I hadn't been following her too closely of late, but I knew she had battled cancer a few times and that she had become a leading voice for protecting women from biological males who wish to take over women's sports. In fact, RedState has been very complimentary of her efforts; it's always great to see a celebrity use his or her platform for good, and they should be applauded when they do the right thing.
And Navratilova has been doing the right thing by using her prominent voice to help save women's sports. Just this past summer, our own Ward Clark wrote about how she had come out swinging when the Paralympics allowed a 50-year-old male sprinter from Italy to compete in the women’s 200 and 400-meter races for visually impaired athletes.
But now the Paralympics are allowing cheating. Yes, you read that right. They are allowing cheating. How?
By allowing a man to compete in the women's 200 and 400-meter races. An Italian named "Valentina" Petrillo will be competing in those events — and "Valentina" is a man. Tennis great Martina Navratilova has a thing or two to say about that.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova slammed Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo as a "pathetic cheater" as the 50-year-old athlete is set to become the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympics next week.
Navratilova, an outspoken supporter of protecting women’s rights in sports, took to social media on Thursday to call out Petrillo, who is slated to compete at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris in the women’s 200 and 400-meter races in the T12 classification for visually impaired athletes.
"Petrillo is a pathetic cheater," Navratilova’s post on X read.
Good on Martina for speaking out.
However, it must be pointed out that Martina Navratilova has got a glaring fault: She loathes Donald Trump to such a degree that she is defeating her own efforts to help women.
Nancy Mace Doubles Down, Files Blockbuster New Bill on Men in Women's Bathrooms
So, back to that tweet from a few weeks ago, where Martina whined in response to a tweet from the Gays Against Groomers account showing them in a photo with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): "And I am so mad that the Republicans captured this issue- shame on all the elected Democrats who keep silent on this!!!"
Why be mad about that? Be happy that at least one party is fighting for women.
— Teri (@TeriChristoph) December 4, 2024
I responded with a perfectly reasonable question: "Why be mad about that? Be happy that at least one party is fighting for women." If the goal is to protect women, and you are truly committed to doing that, doesn't it make sense to work with both parties to make that happen?
Not when TDS is involved, apparently. Here's Martina's response to me: "You mean the party that nominates a rapist or sexual assaulters all over the place?. Nope."
Honestly, I think you could take the fight for women even farther if you didn't just cut out an entire party. Both parties are full of bad people, but our girls shouldn't have to suffer because of that.
— Teri (@TeriChristoph) December 4, 2024
Mega sigh. Again, I thought I responded reasonably with my return tweet: "Honestly, I think you could take the fight for women even farther if you didn't just cut out an entire party. Both parties are full of bad people, but our girls shouldn't have to suffer because of that."
Whoa, whoa, whoa! What was I thinking, suggesting everyone work together to protect girls and women? This apparently crossed the line for Martina, who promptly blocked me. No "love" for me, I guess.
The fun was just beginning, though, as "MAGA Twitter" swooped in and returned fire by correctly pointing out that she was being a massive hypocrite if she was slamming Trump while also having supported Bill Clinton or Joe "The Sniffer" Biden. It was a good, old-fashioned flame war, and I was there for it.
But, the entire thing only served to highlight Martina's major flaw, one that seems to be shared by most on the left, and the reason she will never win the war to save women: She only cares about one side. She'll only work with one side, even though that's the side that's pushing the radical transgender nonsense against which she is supposedly fighting. Make it make sense.
Maybe it's because she was mostly a singles player that she fails to realize that teamwork makes the dream work?
If we pull that thread, would Martina Navratilova be okay with young Republican women being seriously injured by a male playing in their sport because those women happened to be Trump voters? If so, that's some pretty sick stuff.
How about the daughters of Trump voters? You know, those people who voted a certain way in order to best serve and protect their families? Do those young girls deserve to have their right to be safe in their chosen sport stripped away from them because short-sighted partisans like Martina Navratilova deem them to be less-than because of their parents? Even sicker stuff.
The sad fact of the matter is that Martina Navratilova has ceded this fight to the GOP because she is weak. It has nothing to do with Donald Trump and everything to do with her own selfish desire to pick and choose who is worth fighting for and with.
If the only consequence here were being blocked on a social media site, this whole thing would be funny. But there are very serious consequences to our girls when those who can help protect them choose selfishness instead. Martina has unquestionably demonstrated that her TDS is more important to her than those girls.
I'm calling unsportsmanlike conduct on Martina Navratilova. It's time for her to retire.
