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Martina Navratilova: ‘I think the athletes are just too paranoid about coming out and I think if they did they would realize it was okay’

My editor at Gay Star News, Tris Reid-Smith, had a nice, in-depth conversation with Martina Navratilova recently that has just been posted on the site.

I think the world of Martina while I didn’t love all those times she beat Chrissie Evert at Wimbledon, I have always appreciated her candor and her intelligence on whatever topic she is asked about.

Why can’t more public figures be as courageous as Martina?

Anyway, here is some of what she had to say about athletes coming out of the closet, something Martina did more than 30 years ago.

“The sports world is very archaic, and particularly the team sports but I think the athletes are just too paranoid about coming out and I think if they did they would realize it was ok.

You know homophobia is easy to do when it’s generic but it’s very difficult when it’s specific. It is easy for a player to make jokes about fags or whatever but if one of the team is an out gay player, they are not going to be making those jokes. And so I think if the athletes came out it would all change.”

‘I have always said the biggest thing we can do to advance the cause is to come out. If just a few would come out while they are still players, the floodgates would open.’

Here is a LINK to the entire interview.

FILE UNDER: Sports

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