The Czech-American tennis legend, Martina Navratilova, has recently slammed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, for cancelling the funding for the vaccine development. Navratilova expressed discontent as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the retreat of mRNA-based vaccines development activities, which cost over $500 million.Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest women's tennis players of all time, with 167 top-level singles titles and 177 doubles titles under her belt. She won 59 major titles across all categories in the Open Era. In Wimbledon, she holds the record by winning the championship nine times in the singles category.Through her recent X post on August 6, 2025, the Prague, Czechoslovakia native expressed her dissatisfaction with RFK Jr. as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided to halt their mRNA vaccine development programs under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Resharing a post from HuffPost's journalist Jennifer Bendery, Navratilova wrote:"What Kennedy is doing is truly criminal. What an ignorant a**hole!!!"In an official statement released on August 5, the US health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shared (via the HHS website):"We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted. BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”Martina Navratilova is a throat and breast cancer survivor and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.Martina Navratilova reflected on the contemporary times of the countryMartina Navratilova at The Championships - Wimbledon 2025. - Source: GettyThe tennis legend, Martina Navratilova, became a US citizen in 1981 after the state granted her political asylum and now holds dual Czech and US citizenship. She currently resides in the US with her wife, former Russian model Julia Lemigova, and their children. During an interview with BBC's Amol Rajan in June this year, the former World No. 1 tennis player shared her thoughts on the current state of the country."If I were now still in that same position [as in 1975] and I had to go live somewhere, it would not be America, because it's not a democracy at the moment. I mean, people are getting chucked out by Homeland Security, they're getting chucked out because they're not on board. Everything is up in the air right now, and that's the whole point. Everybody's walking on eggshells, not knowing what's going to happen"In 2006, Navratilova was awarded the Czech Sport Legend Award and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.