"What a surprise" - Martina Navratilova slams Donald Trump's military birthday organizers for 'illegal' act during parade

Martina Navratilova reacted as the Donald Trump military birthday parade organizers were held accountable for illegally using the 'He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother' song without permission. Navratilova has dominated the court in her prime years but has shifted to activism in her retirement.

Martina Navratilova, who held the No. 1 rank in the women's singles for 322 weeks, amassed an Open Era record 59 major titles - 31 in doubles, 18 in singles, and ten in mixed doubles. She recorded the longest all-surface winning streak of 74 consecutive wins and won six straight majors in singles from 1983 to 1984.

Following her retirement from competitive sports, the 68-year-old has been a fixture in the political domain, often offering her views and insights on social media. Openly gay since 1981, she has also been an activist for gay rights. In addition to that, Navratilova is a vocal critic of Donald Trump, frequently taking digs at him through social posts.

Recently, for using the famous 1960s ballad 'He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother' illegally on the joint American army’s 250th anniversary jubilee and Trump's birthday celebration, a new cease-and-desist letter was obtained by Rolling Stone. The letter specified that no permission was taken by co-writer late Bobby Scott's daughter, Amber Scott, to use the song in the parade.

Reacting to the casualty, the former World No. 1 wrote:

"What a surprise"

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The 18-time Grand Slam singles winner wore a hat with 'impeach' written on it at the 2019 Wimbledon. Her move was in protest of the tournament's strict dress code.

Martina Navratilova slammed the US President Donald Trump for the US' involvement in the Iran-Israel war

Martina Navratilova at the Championships - Wimbledon 2023 - (Source: Getty)

Amid the Iran-Israel war, the US government stepped in to negotiate an agreement preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. When Iran didn't come to terms with the Trump administration, the US attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, Esfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.

Infuriated with Donald Trump's intervention, Martina Navratilova acclaimed Democratic Party members, Kamala Harris and Hilary Clinton, for their views of the current US President.

"Somebody needs to make t-shirts that say "Harris and Clinton were right about everything," she wrote on X.

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Navratilova recently lashed out at the President for his claims of protecting the United Kingdom, posting her reaction on X that read:

"F***ing toxic narcissist. He makes literally everything about himself."

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Martina Navratilova was stripped of her Czechoslovakian citizenship in 1975. She became a temporary resident in the US and later acquired citizenship in 1981.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder