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Tennis star Martina Navratilova has arguably done more for gay visibility (aka "mainstreaming") than any other athlete or celebrity — and did so at a time when it was particularly inconvenient. So how come she's suddenly become one of the community's biggest problems?
Billie Jean King has called Navratilova "the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived." She "won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including 9 consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record 9 times." And most of that came after, in 1981, she came out publicly. Since then, she's been a champion for gay rights, even filing a lawsuit in 1992 in Colorado to fight Amendment 2, which would've granted any town, city, or county from enacting anti-discrimination rules for gays.
So how come Navratilova might just be Public Enemy No. 1 to GLBTs right now?
Because she's exploiting the current status of same-sex marriage for her own personal advantage.
Navratilova is in the middle of a messy (and growing even more so) divorce from Toni Layton. But in order to keep Layton's hands off Navratilova's fortune, the tennis star's attorneys are arguing that their relationship doesn't qualify as a marriage by heterosexual terms, and thus Layton shouldn't be entitled to her share of things. Layton, naturally, sees things differently, and is filing a domestic partnership lawsuit in Florida, which Salon notes is a "deeply inhospitable legal climate" for gay-anything.
Close watchers of Navratilova will know this isn't a new tactic: Back in 1991, ex-lover Judy Nelson sued her for $7.5 million, and even had videotapes of two of their wedding ceremonies to show a court. The pair settled out of court, reportedly for around $3 million.
For Navratilova, the issue is a personal and financial one, and she's using any means necessary to get her way in court. This includes trivializing her relationship with Layton as being "sub-par" when compared to "true, traditional marriage," even though the pair were together for nearly eight years. Layton maintains she was, out of the blue, kicked out of Navratilova's life and even locked out of their homes — and insists the pair agreed to a 50/50 split of everything, which is why Layton wants parts of the four multimillion dollar estates, cars, and jewelry they purchased while together.
But for someone who proclaims to be such an advocate of gay rights, Navratilova is throwing the fight for same-sex marriage under the bus. By trying to hang on to her millions, she has (what we're guessing is) the unintended effect of magnifying the triteness of gay relationships. That same-sex relationships are lesser than male-female relationships is Navratilova's entire talking point.
As the pair wage war with legalese, it's interesting to note Navratilova's Wikipedia page has been scrubbed of any mention of Layton. The paragraphs about her commitment to gay rights, however, remain.
Article Provided Courtesy of Queerty.com
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Reader Comments:
Layton is a narcissistic liar. She got caught stealing, lying and cooking books. She caused more financial debt than Madoff did.... will she split the debt as well as the "fortune", or just fraudulently steal more from MN, leave her trail of financial wreckage behind, and move on to her next victim?
-One who knows
Martina has a pattern of lovin' and leavin' women in the dust. Her high profile splits --and her greedy public boo-hooing that her exes are trying to clean her out seem pretty shady, considering there is indeed a pattern. Anyone who has seen the videos of Martina and Judy Nelson can tell Martina is a huge manipulator. after the fact, Yes, she is indeed the LGBT community's enemy No. 1. Making our relationships sub-par is REPREHENSIBLE for any reason. How dare she?!?!
I met Martina about 2 years ago at the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach. I was rather excited to see her......A) because she was an icon of my era... B) I don't watch much TV and didn't know many of the celebs. I kindly asked if I could take her picture...asked her if she would be offended. Well, she got out of her car and, assuming I was the paparazzi, proceeded to rip me a new a**hole. I apologized profusely and tried to get away, with slight dignity intact, only to have her grab me around the waist an announce we'd have a picture together. Snap! (my daughter took it). I scrambled back to the drifting cars and told my tale to the drivers. The drivers who work with celebs told me what her problem was...she wanted to "pose". I'll be darn if that wasn't the best picture I've ever seen of her. The worst of me but she looked fantastic. She didn't know I was gay, wasn't a photographer. But I saw her for who she is and whoever had the determination to try and love her deserves a metal of honor! The woman is rank and her temperament is out there for public consumption.....Etiquette school is awaiting you Martina.
How nice of her to talk about rights and be a poster child for them when it benefited her....just to turn around and act like the enemy when it comes to her money. My girl and I are not the least bit surprised! Ms. Navratilova played recreational Florida Women's Hockey a lil while back and was a terrible spotsman! The refs grew so tired of her complains and temper tantrums....she even shoved down a young player 1/2 her height (and FWHL doesn't allow checking like the means leagues do). She did not play long.