Tennis legend Martina Navratilova slammed transgender swimmer Lia Thomas on Wednesday over the issue of transgender women in female sports.
Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon champion, criticized remarks Thomas made on the “Dear Schuyler” podcast. Thomas, a transgender individual that identifies as a woman, criticized women that purport to be feminists, but do not support transgender women competing in the women’s athletic category. Thomas claimed that feminists that are skeptical of transgender inclusion in sports likely carry an “implicit bias.”
“You can’t really have that sort of half support where you’re like, ‘oh, I respect her as a woman here but not here,’” Thomas said, “They’re using the guise of feminism to sort of push transphobic beliefs.” (RELATED: ‘Sheer Entitlement And Selfishness’: Riley Gaines Blasts Lia Thomas For ‘Emotional Blackmail’)
The tennis legend said that transgender women competing in the women’s category is unfair, and that Thomas should stop telling feminists what to think. “NEWSFLASH Lia- it’s not fair,” Navratilova tweeted. “We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over. Also- stop explaining feminism to feminists….”
Lia Thomas Says Her Critics Using ‘Feminism’ Claims To Hide Transphobia- NEWSFLASH Lia- it’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over. Also- stop explaining feminism to feminists…. https://t.co/vZxEva3rm2
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) April 26, 2023
Navratilova applauded the World Athletics’ decision to bar transgender women from female athletic competitions in March. World Athletics acts as the the governing body for multiple athletic competitions, including track and field. The Wimbledon champion has called for the creation of a new category to allow transgender athletes to compete.
“Biological females are most likely to compete in the biological female category, as that’s their best shot at winning and it maintains the principle of fairness. With an ‘open’ category there are no question marks, no provisos, no asterisks, no doubts. It’s a simple solution,” Navratilova said, Spotskeeda reported.
“Once somebody has gone through male puberty, there is no way to erase that physical advantage. You cannot simply turn back the clock, for instance by trying to lower testosterone levels,” Navratilova added.