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Tennis icon Martina Navratilova took a cheeky dig at NASA's justification for including an all-female crew on their one-and-a-half-year Mars mission, launched in 2021.
In 2021, NASA decided to launch a Mars mission with an all-female crew, all under the age of 28. As reported by media outlets, the American space agency justified the decision by stating that an all-female crew would not be involved in sexual intercourse, thus avoiding the risk of unwanted pregnancies in such a dangerous environment.
Former World No. 1 Navratilova reacted to the news and shared a video where a stand-up comedian and TV writer reflected on the news and pointed out that sexual intercourse doesn't just conform to heterosexual relationships.
She reshared the tweet and took a cheeky dig at NASA's decision.
"Didn’t realize one needed men to have sex but ok…," Martina Navratilova tweeted.
The retired tennis professional has always been a prominent face on social media in taking a stand on various issues, especially advocating for gay rights. The America, who dominated the tennis tour for over two decades, has been openly lesbian for several years now. Martina Navratilova married former Russian model Julia Lemigova in 2014.
"It was hard not to take it personally but I realized it was mostly because I was gay" - Martina Navratilova on how poorly fans welcomed her for her sexuality
In an interview with Julie Bindel, Martina Navratilova shed some light on how poorly the fans reacted to her coming out as a lesbian during the 1980s. Speaking further, she said despite being a superstar in the game of tennis, she was welcomed with "muted applause" while the likes of Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong faced their share of warm welcomes from the fans.
"I didn't really see it face-to-face, it was kind of the bigger picture when I was introduced to come on the court. Everybody was cheering when Chris Evert was introduced or Evonne Goolagong, but when I came out onto the court it was muted applause," Navratilova said, in a video posted on Bindel's YouTube page.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion further revealed that she could not ignore the "jeers" because she was certain she was subjected to such behavior because of being gay.
"There were some jeers, some whistles. It was hard not to take it personally but I realized it was mostly because I was gay. Some of it was because I was winning too much perhaps," she added.
