“Punishing people for stating a biological fact”: Martina Navratilova vexed by reports of Scotland making it criminal offense to misgender trans women

Martina Navratilova recently shared her opinion on the latest reports from Scotland, which state that transgender women will not be allowed to be referred to as males by its citizens.

Despite her numerous accomplishments in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, Navratilova remains a vocal opponent of transgender women participating in women’s sports and the overall activism for transgender rights. She consistently shares her disapproval of these developments.

In light of this situation, Martina Navratilova utilized her X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday (March 31) to respond to a London-based journalist’s report, which stated in a separate post that the government of Scotland may potentially make it a criminal offense to misgender a trans woman.

“As of April 1, in Scotland, it will be considered a crime to state that transwomen are male. A fact will be criminalized,”the journalist wrote on her X handle. “An undertrained police force will have the power to confiscate your devices for saying this and it will be registered as a ‘non-hate crime incident’ if you haven’t been found guilty.”

Despite her confusion, Navratilova expressed concern about the report, stating that individuals were now facing restrictions on stating a basic biological fact.

“This is no April fools…. Punishing people for stating a biological fact… ok then,”Martina Navratilova wrote on her X handle on Sunday.

Martina Navratilova on transgender women in sports: “Fairness and safety must be prioritized”

In February, Martina Navratilova voiced her displeasure regarding transgender athlete Maelle Jacques winning the girls’ high jump competition at the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) indoor track and field championship.

The video of the freshman was reposted by her, and in her caption she emphasized the importance of protecting women’s sports from “unsuccessful male athletes”.

“And I will keep saying this ad nauseum until the rules change- women’s sports are not a place for failed male athletes,”Navratilova wrote on her X handle.

Last year, Navratilova expressed her disapproval of Avi Silverberg, a transgender powerlifter who set a new record for bench pressing in the 84+ kg weight class at a tournament in the USA hosted by Alberta.

“It is happening literally everywhere…”the American wrote on her X handle last August.

At approximately the same time, she criticized the USTA for releasing a transgender inclusion policy.

“Come on @USTA – women’s tennis is not for failed male athletes- whatever age. This is not right and it is not fair,”she wrote.