By Steve Sailer
02/19/2019
From The Guardian:
Martina Navratilova criticised over âcheatingâ trans women comments
Former tennis player says trans athletes competing in womenâs tournaments is âinsaneâ
Frances Perraudin, @fperraudin, Sun 17 Feb 2019
The former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova has been criticised for âdisturbing, upsetting, and deeply transphobicâ comments after she argued that allowing transgender women to compete in womenâs sporting tournaments was âinsane and cheatingâ.
The tennis player and gay rights campaigner first drew criticism from equalities activists and trans athletes when she tweeted in December: âYou canât 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.â
Writing in the Sunday Times, Navratilova said she had subsequently promised to keep quiet on the subject until she had done some research on it. âWell, Iâve now done that and, if anything, my views have strengthened,â she wrote.
âTo put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organisation 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 desires.
I think she means âfathering babies.â
âItâs insane and itâs 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.â
Her comments attracted criticism across social media.
Martina is pretty formidable and really hates losing, so if sheâs serious about her campaign to save womenâs sports, sheâs a rare celebrity who might have what it takes to stand up to the widely-feared Ex-Men Lobby.