They didn’t.Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and one of the most prominent openly gay athletes in sports history, told OutKick in a recent interview that she attempted to get a message to Kamala Harris as Republicans hammered Democrats over the issue of transgender athletes and women’s sex-based rights during the 2024 election."I tried to get to Kamala Harris’ campaign," Navratilova told OutKick."Nobody would listen to me."MARTINA NAVRATILOVA SAYS BILLIE JEAN KING’S TRANS-ATHLETE STANCE ‘DOESN’T SQUARE’ WITH HER OWN WORDSTennis legend Martina Navratilova told OutKick that Democrats ignored warnings on transgender athletes and let Republicans turn the issue against Kamala Harris.
(Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)OutKick contacted Harris’ office and a former senior communications official for Harris’ 2024 campaign seeking comment on Navratilova’s claim.Neither responded.For Navratilova, that wasn’t just a campaign problem.
It was a Democratic Party problem.She said the silence from Democrats does not reflect what many of them say privately."The politicians, I’ve spoken to some of them, Democrats, and they agree with me.But they said, ‘If I say so publicly, I will get primaried.
I will not get reelected,’" Navratilova said.That leaves Democratic leaders stuck between voters and activists, according to Navratilova."Most Democratic voters agree that this is not okay," Navratilova said."They are against all inclusion and self-ID, and they are for women, but Democrats don’t see how they’re throwing women under the bus this way, and it’s just infuriating."Polling has shown the issue cuts across party lines.
A January 2025 New York Times/Ipsos survey found 67% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents said biological males who identify as girls or women should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.Navratilova is not speaking as a conservative outsider.Navratilova has been publicly out since 1981 and spent decade...