After withdrawing for a time to research the subject, lesbian sport legend Martina Navratilova has published a piece in the Sunday Times of London, affirming her commonsense view that it’s unfair for men who identify as women to be allowed to dominate women’s athletic competitions.

The reaction has been swift and, for anyone familiar with current transactivist behavior, sadly predictable.

The managing editor of Outsports.com – a man who reportedly left his wife to “transition” in middle age, now calls himself Dawn, and tweets from an account named SportsGirl – tweeted at Martina using the slur “terf” and asking her to comment.

Martina did not immediately respond, but a man who calls himself Athena Del Rosario and plays in women’s sports tweeted back, calling Martina “trash” before insulting her appearance and calling her a “bag,” an insult he seems to be fond of using against women.

Rachel McKinnon, a US philosophy professor now notorious for pushing women out of top prizes in cycling competitions, also had a bit of a meltdown, repeatedly using the slur “terf” toward Martina, and comparing a UK women’s organization to the Ku Klux Klan.

In the current climate, where posters have been found in Manchester, England using this slur to falsely associate women with fascism, and calling for them to be burned, this reaction to women’s speech is alarming.  

Martina has taken a brave stand for women — surely knowing how much criticism she’d get — to give others the courage to speak as well. If you can, will you join her today by sharing her article and defending single-sex sports for women and girls?