Martina Navratilova Faces Accusations of Transphobia Over Trans Athlete Comments

Martina Navratilova faces transphobia accusations over her trans athlete comments, from the 2019 «cheating» op-ed to her 2026 clash with Billie Jean King.

Tennis legend’s remarks on transgender women in women’s sport spark backlash from LGBTQ+ groups and renewed debate over fairness and inclusion.

Tennis icon Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion and one of the most prominent openly gay figures in sport, has faced sustained accusations of transphobia following her repeated comments on transgender women competing in women’s sport, a controversy that has reignited and evolved well into 2026.

«Cheating» and «insane»: the comments that triggered a backlash

The furore began in February 2019, when Navratilova wrote in The Sunday Times that allowing transgender women to compete in female competition was «cheating», arguing they would benefit from unfair physical advantages. As The Guardian reported at the time, the former world No 1 also described the participation of trans athletes in women’s tournaments as «insane», remarks that prompted immediate criticism from trans rights campaigners and LGBTQ+ groups.

The reaction was swift. LGBTQ+ sports organisation Athlete Ally removed Navratilova from its Advisory Board and dropped her as an ambassador «effective immediately», stating that her comments were «transphobic, based on a false understanding of science and data, and perpetuate dangerous myths» that fuel discrimination against trans people. According to ESPN, the group added that it had previously approached the nine-time Wimbledon champion about «deeply troubling» social media comments on the same subject, but had not heard back when she said she would seek to educate herself further.

In March 2019, Navratilova issued an apology for her use of the word «cheating», acknowledging the hurt her language had caused while maintaining that the underlying question of fairness in elite women’s competition deserved scrutiny, as CNN reported at the time. She later fronted a BBC documentary exploring the issue.

«Trans rights on a civil level»: Navratilova holds her ground

As the trans athlete debate intensified in the United States, Navratilova became one of its most prominent commentators. In a 2023 interview with journalist Kara Swisher, she insisted: «I’m all for trans rights on a civil level, 100 per cent, every which way»,  positioning her objections as being solely about sporting categories, as quoted in The Progressive. Critics have been unpersuaded. Writing in the same magazine in April 2025, sports journalist Dave Zirin argued that her stance had taken her «from trailblazer to cliché», accusing her of aligning herself with the right on transgender rights.

Notably, Navratilova’s history complicates a simple narrative. As she told OutKick via Fox News, she was personally coached by Renée Richards, the transgender player who won the right to compete in the 1977 US Open women’s draw. «Because of Renée, I was completely all-in for inclusion»,  she said, arguing that Richards’s situation was a one-off case decided in court, and that the present-day landscape is fundamentally different.

The feud with Billie Jean King: 2026 developments

The controversy took a remarkable turn in June 2026, when Navratilova publicly challenged her longtime friend and rival Billie Jean King to defend her support for transgender women athletes, The Advocate reported. «I honestly don’t know because it doesn’t square,” Navratilova told OutKick, arguing that King’s stance conflicts with her own historic advocacy for women’s sport. «Please get Billie Jean on record. I’d like to know how she explains it because she hasn’t been able to explain it to me». She added: «The solution is obvious. No male bodies in women’s sports and no male bodies in women’s sex-based spaces».

Navratilova has also turned her fire on U.S. Democratic politicians. In May 2026, she criticised California Governor Gavin Newsom ahead of the state’s girls’ high school track and field championships, writing on X: «Cheating… which at the moment the rules allow. Thanks for nothing», per the New York Post. She added: «Newsom could overturn this in a second. No excuse».

More recently, in August 2026, she rejected claims that the trans-athlete debate engulfing the WNBA, sparked by Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham’s stance, was a political distraction, telling Yahoo Sports: «No red herring. It’s real for the thousands of women and girl athletes around this country and the world who are directly impacted by males competing in female sports».

Navratilova floats claim of a «secret» trans player in the WNBA

The row took another turn in September 2026, when Navratilova publicly promoted the theory that a WNBA team was hiding a transgender player on its roster. As Them reported, the claim quickly unravelled: there are, in fact, no trans women in the WNBA, and league eligibility rules already make it extraordinarily difficult for one to qualify. Critics described the episode as a conspiracy theory, and it drew fresh condemnation from LGBTQ+ advocates who accused the 18-time Grand Slam champion of spreading baseless suspicion about women athletes — a charge that mirrors the warnings sounded by Athlete Ally back in 2019.

A polarising legacy

The dispute has placed Navratilova in an unusual position: an icon of both gay rights and women’s sport now frequently aligned with conservative voices on one of the era’s most charged cultural questions. Supporters argue she is defending fairness in women’s categories; detractors, including Athlete Ally and writers such as The Progressive‘s Dave Zirin, contend her rhetoric amplifies prejudice.

What is not in dispute is her standing in the game, 18 major singles titles, 31 major doubles titles and 167 career singles titles, nor the genuine complexity of the sporting question itself, which governing bodies worldwide continue to grapple with. What remains fiercely contested is whether her intervention is a defence of women’s sport, or, as her critics insist, something far less defensible.

Our sources: The Guardian · Athlete Ally · ESPN · CNN · The Progressive · Fox News · The Advocate · New York Post · Yahoo Sports · Them