Sports
Martina Navratilova: Coming ‘full circle’
Navratilova on why the Sochi games must go on
Martina Navratilova came out in 1981 and lost endorsement deals for her bold stance. (Photo courtesy of John Wright Photo)
Martina Navratilova broke more than one glass ceiling during her career.
She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles – including nine women’s singles championships at Wimbledon during her time on the tennis circuit that spanned more than three decades from 1975 to her official retirement in 2006. Navratilova also won 31 major women’s doubles and 10 major mixed doubles titles.
She also made history in 1981 as one of the first professional athletes who came out as gay.
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Navratilova, 56, told the Washington Blade during an interview that fans had a mixed reaction to her decision to publicly disclose her sexual orientation.
“I’d get some ovation from some,” the retired Czech-born tennis champion said, noting she didn’t receive endorsement deals after she came out. “From some they would just not clap at all and some would be whistling and booing.”
Navratilova credited positive media coverage over the last decade with improving the way LGBT athletes are treated.
“Back then it was people who cheered me on that were looked at funny, so it’s just totally come around,” she said. “I didn’t know how bad it was in the stands until I met some people that were my fans back in the day and they’re like, ‘you had no idea what people used to say,’ so it’s nice to know that it’s kind of full circle. People couldn’t get away with that stuff anymore.”
Navratilova spoke to the Blade a few weeks after former Washington Wizards center Jason Collins came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
“His coming out will have a positive impact on an untold amount of lives,” she said. “It’s just adding to the groundswell of acceptance.”
Collins’ representatives have declined the Blade’s requests to interview him.
Collins described Navratilova as “one of my heroes” during an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos shortly after he came out. He also said she is one of his role models.
“You never know how you affect somebody in what way and it was just really nice to know just by being who I am made a difference — a positive difference in somebody else,” Navratilova said, noting she and Collins have exchanged e-mails since he came out. “It’s very empowering and humbling at the same time.”
Navratilova spoke to the Blade shortly after Russian lawmakers unanimously passed a bill by a 436-0 margin that sought to ban the “promotion of homosexuality” to minors. President Vladimir Putin on June 30 signed the so-called gay propaganda measure into law.
Putin also signed a bill that bans foreign same-sex couples and those from countries that allow same-sex marriage from adopting Russian children. Groups that receive funding from outside Russia that do not register as “foreign agents” under a 2012 law face a fine of up to 500,000 rubles (or $15,220.)
“I feel like Putin’s just trying to go against whatever the West is doing,” Navratilova said. “If the West would be bad about gays, he would have gay marriage, but because the West is good with the gays — or getting better, he goes the other way.”
Navratilova is among the current and former LGBT professional athletes who oppose calls to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi over Russia’s gay rights record. Others include Olympic diver Greg Louganis, who was unable to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because the U.S. boycotted the games over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan the year before; figure skater Johnny Weir and former George Washington University basketball player Kye Allums.
Blake Skjellerup, a gay speed skater from New Zealand, plans to wear a rainbow pin during the Sochi games.
Navratilova said Russia shouldn’t “have gotten the Olympics in the first place,” but stressed she “never believed in boycotts.” She referenced the gay advocacy groups that boycotted Colorado after voters in 1992 approved a constitutional amendment that barred the state from enacting anti-gay discrimination laws to further prove her point.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in 1996 in the Romer v. Evans decision.
“It’s more effective to get in people’s faces and prove them wrong rather than run away,” Navratilova said. “To me a boycott kind of runs away from the problem.”
She was also a Tennis Channel commentator during the men’s final at the French Open in early June when opponents of France’s same-sex marriage law interrupted the match between Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. Navratilova said the shirtless protester who ran onto the court with a flare in his hand near Nadal reminded her of the man who stabbed Monica Seles during a German tennis match in 1993.
“You’re like holy shit, you’re still not safe on the tennis court,” she said. “On top of that, it’s these asshole protesters who have nothing better to do but complain about gay people having the same rights as they do.”
Navratilova also recalled seeing some of the more than 100,000 people who marched against France’s same-sex marriage law in Paris on May 26 — three days before the first gay couple legally tied the knot in the country. Opponents of nuptials for same-sex couples also gathered along portions of the Tour de France route last month to protest the statute.
“I couldn’t believe the masses of people who were out protesting against something that doesn’t affect them in any way,” Navratilova said, referring to the May 26 march in the French capital. “To really see real people that are so emotionally invested in denying you equality is really disconcerting.”
Sports
2 former NBA players launch cheap anti-trans stunt to exploit WNBA rules
Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are attempting to extend their finished sports careers through vague gender eligibility policy in the WNBA.
As transgender sports policy continues to make headlines, two former NBA players are attempting to use vague WNBA wording on players’ gender identity to extend their finished professional sports careers.
Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, two male former professional basketball players who have aligned themselves with the ‘far-right’ political spectrum, have announced that they plan to self-identify as transgender in order to meet the requirements to declare themselves eligible for the WNBA draft.
Freedom last played for the NBA in 2022, while White played his last professional game in 2018.
Both players have explicitly stated that this choice is an attempt to exploit the policy currently in place in the WNBA — one that assumes those who say they identify as transgender women are women — unlike what these two have done.
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it does not include more specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth, according to The Athletic, The New York Times’s sports publication.
Neither Freedom nor White has previously made any statements about being trans.
“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom wrote on X. “Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.”
Hours later, White made a similar statement to Fox News, emphasizing that this was solely an attempt to exploit the policy — an attempt at inclusion — and use it as a loophole to stay relevant in the sport he left in 2018.
“I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well,“ White told Fox News. “I think I’d be unstoppable. But I’m a team-first guy. I’m a pass-first kind of player. I do the little things. I led my team in all five major stat categories at Iowa State University, so I do a little bit of everything. I’ll do whatever the coach needs me to do. I’ll do whatever the girls need me to do.”
White also said that he would be open to suing the WNBA if he were not allowed to be a part of the draft, while making transphobic comments about genitalia in the same breath.
“I think the WNBA could come out and make a definitive statement about guys with a pair of balls playing in the Women’s Association,“ White said, saying he doesn’t “want to be discriminated against.”
“I want fair treatment,” White continued while also using the opportunity to promote his run for the U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota. “I’m a young Black, hopefully United States Senator that would like a fair chance to participate as a sometimes-identifying-as-a-transgender-woman athlete.”
“We’re gonna have to have a huge legal battle about discrimination if I can’t play,” he added.
White has made multiple failed attempts to run for office as a Republican since leaving the NBA, with statements surrounding conspiracy theories and his support for Trump coming under fire.
He has faced court actions after falling behind on court-mandated child support payments and has faced family repercussions for his political activities.
White’s grandfather has distanced himself from White, stating: “There’s no way I can support my grandson supporting the GOP, and in essence, Trump.”
In response to Freedom’s X post and White’s announcement, the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association, the players’ union for the WNBA, released a statement doubling down on its commitment to inclusivity in the sport.
“We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change,” the statement said in a post on Instagram.
“Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations,” the post continued. “But we will not be used as political pawns.”
The statement comes just days after WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to teams attempting to address ongoing discussions around transgender athletes in women’s basketball.
“I know many of you have received questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women’s basketball, and I expect this topic will continue to receive significant attention,” Engelbert wrote in the memo, which was sent Friday afternoon and published in the Associated Press. “I wanted to reach out to share how we are approaching these conversations at the league office and to thank those of you who have responded to questions from the media with thoughtfulness and professionalism.”
“We recognize that this is a complex and nuanced topic, and we will continue to have important conversations with all of you and the Players Association in the weeks and months ahead,” Engelbert said. “We also plan to convene additional discussions and offer listening sessions for any team leaders who would like to participate. Your perspectives and feedback are invaluable, and I appreciate those who have already reached out to share their thoughts.”
The memo, which does not clarify whether the league’s stance on gender eligibility will change or what the ongoing conversations have looked like, comes as political figures — particularly those on the right — continue to fuel debates over transgender participation in women’s sports across the country and across sports.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also commented on the ongoing eligibility meetings the WNBA is holding, using the issue to criticize transgender participation in women’s sports.
“WNBA meeting to decide whether 2+2=4 or 2+2=5,” Desantis wrote on X on Saturday.
Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. Cunningham’s comments sparked small rallies and protests in Seattle and Portland when the Fever were on the road last week.
Despite the loudest voices — and those being covered by non-LGBTQ outlets — highlighting negative takes on transgender inclusion on female sports teams, multiple WNBA members have voiced their support for transgender women participating in sports.
Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve have used their platforms to continue their vocal support for transgender women participating in sports.
“We need to protect trans kids,” Reeve said on Aug. 1. “To me, it’s a human rights issue. Every kid has a right to sports.”
A source familiar with the league told the Blade that the WNBA is not taking Freedom and White’s announcements seriously and is not entertaining what the source characterized as bad-faith efforts to demonize the transgender community. The source emphasized that there are no serious or immediate eligibility issues involving the two men and said their attempts to enter women’s sports do not represent an effort to protect women’s sports.
“The WNBA will not allow bad-faith publicity stunts designed to mock or demean others to dictate serious conversations about league policy,” the source told the Blade on Tuesday. “There are no immediate eligibility issues affecting the WNBA.”
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
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