Martina Navratilova furious as disabled woman subjected to abuses after attending Riley Gaines event

Martina Navratilova, the 18-time singles Grand Slam winner, has expressed her outrage over a disturbing incident in which a disabled elderly woman was verbally harassed by masked individuals after attending the Riley Gaines event. Despite the police presence, the woman was continuously harassed and was not once stopped by the officers, which further infuriated the tennis legend.

Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer turned into a political activist after having experienced personal injustice. She advocates for women’s rights and promotes equal opportunities received by women. Her event usually draws a lot of protest from the left-leaning activist groups.

There were two masked individuals, a male and a female, hurling abuse at the elderly disabled woman. They were speculated to be Antifa Militants. Antifa is a scattered movement which focuses on opposing fascism and right-wing extremism. Their members often wear masks and participate in direct protests.

Martina Navratilova condemned the incident on X (formerly Twitter), stating:

“Hiding behind a mask while hurling awful insults at a disabled woman walking. And the police just looks on. Effing cowards, the lot of them.”

Navratilova was especially furious at the police, as they were accompanying the woman but did not take any action against the militants. The police simply let the Antifa members hurl abuse at the old woman.

The video, which has been circulated online, has garnered widespread outrage among the citizens. Navratilova, apart from her legendary tennis career, is also known for raising her voice against the injustice of women. Her words against the act underscore the need for police to step up in these situations and stop these abuses.

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Martina Navratilova once applauded Riley Gaines for suing the NCAA for inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports

Martina Navratilova at the Red Carpet Arrivals of Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid 2024 - Source: Getty

Martina Navratilova has been a strong supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, being a lesbian woman herself. In 2024, Riley Gaines sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

Navratilova praised Riley for her actions. She took her appreciation to X and wrote:

“Be kind my you know what… and what an insult from that (fill in blank) with his What about lesbians insult??? Well done Riley!”

This was a reply to Riley’s previous post on X, which stated:

"Newsflash...it's not "kind" to ask a young girl to undress in front of a naked, intact man & what a spectacular display of idiocy to ask "but what about lesbians?" Lesbians are sick of being your pawn."

The former Swimmer spoke about this event from a personal perspective, as she has also been in a situation where she experienced this. Since then, she has started to speak about the injustice against women and challenged the rules in women’s sports.