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LGBT Group Athlete Ally Drops Navratilova


Athlete Ally, an LGBT support group aiming to end homophobia and transphobia in sport, has dropped Martina Navratilova from its advisory board in response to the Hall of Famer opposing transgender women competing in women's sport.

Navratilova, who was once coached by transgender women's tennis player Dr. Renee Richards, says it's "insane and it's cheating" for transgender women to compete as women.

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Athlete Ally announced its decision to cut ties with the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion in a statement posted on its website that called Navratilova's comments "transphobic."

"Athlete Ally unequivocally stands on the side of trans athletes and their right to access and compete in sport free from discrimination," Athlete Ally said in a statement. "Martina Navratilova’s recent comments on trans athletes are transphobic, based on a false understanding of science and data, and perpetuate dangerous myths that lead to the ongoing targeting of trans people through discriminatory laws, hateful stereotypes and disproportionate violence.

"As an organization dedicated to addressing root causes of homophobia and transphobia in and through sport, we will only affiliate with those committed to the same goal, and not those who further misinformation or discrimination in any way. Given this, Navratilova has been removed from our Advisory Board and as an Athlete Ally ambassador, effective immediately."

In her op-ed in the Sunday Times, Navratilova blasted transgender women competing in women's sport as "insane and cheating."

"To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organization is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desire," Navratilova wrote in The Times. "It’s insane and it’s cheating. I am happy to address a transgender woman in whatever form she prefers, but I would not be happy to compete against her. It would not be fair."

Last December, Navratilova was criticized by some members of the LGBT community for a tweet some branded "transphobic."

In a response to one of her followers on Twitter, Navratilova wrote: "Clearly that can't be right. You can't just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women. There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard."

The former No. 1 later clarified her comments and her focus on fair play with this Tweet.



Athlete Ally said it approached Navratilova in December to engage in a dialogue on the issue and claims it never heard back from the tennis legend. In its statement, the group also disputed the substance and science of Navratilova's claims.

"Within her op-ed in the Sunday Times, Navratilova referred to trans women as men who 'decide to be female,' and that to allow them to compete with women is 'cheating and unfair,' " Athletes Ally said. "First of all, trans women are women, period. They did not decide their gender identity any more than someone decides to be gay, or to have blue eyes.

"There is no evidence at all that the average trans woman is any bigger, stronger, or faster than the average cisgender woman, but there is evidence that often when athletes lower testosterone through hormone replacement therapy, performance goes down."

Photo credit: Avantist

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