Tennis legend Martina Navratilova tells Democrats to 'grow a spine' after they voted against trans ban bill
2025-01-15
Category: sports

Former women's tennis star Martina Navratilova weighed in on Tuesday's vote on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in the House of Representatives. The Republican majority voted unanimously to pass the bill, but only two Democrat House members voted in favor of it, while the rest did not.&nbsp; Navratilova has also taken a firm stance against trans inclusion in women and girls' sports while previously criticizing Democrat lawmakers for supporting it. That criticism continued on Tuesday in a series of posts on X.&nbsp; "Shame on the Democrats who really don’t care about women, girls, and their safety, fairness," she wrote in response to the news that only two Democratic House members voted in favor of the bill.&nbsp; CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM  In another post, Navratilova insisted that there must be more than two Democratic House members who oppose trans inclusion and that those members should "grow a spine."&nbsp; "More Dems need to step up here. I know many who agree but are scared to speak up because of re-election. I say do the right thing. Grow a spine," she wrote.&nbsp; This is not the first time Navratilova has ripped the left for their different views on the issue.&nbsp; In a December post on X, the tennis legend said she was "mad" that Republicans have tackled the nationwide controversy rather than Democrats, the party which she has aligned with. SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT  "And I am so mad that the Republicans captured this issue – shame on all the elected Democrats who keep silent on this!" she wrote.&nbsp; The tennis legend appeared at the Independent Women's Forum's "Take Back Title IX" rally in June, as she and other prominent women athletes pushed back on the Biden administration’s Title IX rewrite.&nbsp; There, she shared her experience of being attacked by other liberals for her stance on trans inclusion.&nbsp; CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  "Now, it’s, ‘Oh, you’re a homophobe.’ Go figure. I’ve been out since ’81, yeah, I’m a homophobe," she said. "‘You’re a bigot, you’re a transphobe, you’re a Nazi, you’re a fascist, you’re a communist,’ everything and everything in between. And this is coming from the left. I am the left! My people are turning on me. They’re turning on us, women, who speak up for women’s sex-based rights." Before that, Navratilova called Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo, who competed in the Paralympics as a trans woman, a "pathetic cheater." In March, she made a plea to "keep women's sports female." Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Ryan Morik contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital’s&nbsp;sports coverage on X,&nbsp;and subscribe to&nbsp;the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.