Women’s tennis icon Martina Navratilova has taken on Gov. Gavin Newsom over the growing transgender athlete controversy in California over the upcoming girls’ high school track and field championships.
After winning multiple state finals last year, a boy who is identifying as a girl is set to compete in the tournament this year, Outkick reports.
Under Newsom’s leadership, the state is allowing men to compete in girls’ sports.
Navratilova joined in condemning the governor and cheering on two gold medal-winning female Olympians, Nancy Hogshead and Kelly Humphries, who spoke out against the governor Friday in an article on OutKick.
“Nancy is right!!! We are made completely different!!!” Navratilova wrote in an X while sharing the article.
In response to the post, Navratilova argued to another user that Newsom has the power to protect girls sports in California.
Navratilova wrote, “Newsom could overturn this in a second. No excuses.”
In a later post on Saturday, Navratilova again shared the news that the trans athlete representing Jurupa Valley High School has been seeded first in the upcoming tournament, OutKick reports.
“Cheating… which the rules currently allow. Thanks for nothing.” [Gavin Newsom]Navratilova wrote.
Navratilova, like Olympic swimmer Hogshead, has been a vocal advocate for protecting women’s sports despite supporting Democrats on other issues.
Regarding the upcoming track meet, Hogshead responded to a statement from Newsom’s office, saying, “The Governor has said that discussion of this issue should be guided by fairness, dignity and respect.”
The office cited a 2013 law that made it one of 22 states requiring students to be allowed to participate in “gender-segregated” school sports consistent with their gender identity.
Hogshead, a civil rights attorney and lifelong Democrat, said in an X post:
Governor Newsom seems to hold girls out of his standard of “fairness, dignity and respect.” It is impossible to include a man in girls’ sports – no matter how they identify with him – and have a fair competition while honoring and respecting women’s unique biology. Women are not weak men; Males and females are made from different molds, so different that it justifies formal, government-sanctioned gender separation.
Hogshead won three gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Olympic bobsledder Humphries, a California resident and supporter of President Donald Trump, has also criticized the California governor.
“Governor Newsom should focus on California hosting the Olympics who actually knows the difference between men and women and stop pushing his woke agenda that is out of touch with the mainstream of the American public,” Humphries told Fox News Digital.
Humphries has won three Olympic gold medals in bobsleigh for both the US and Canada and earned two bronze medals at the 2026 Winter Games, at the age of 40. She is the most decorated female bobsledder in Olympic history.
During an observance of Women’s History Month in the East Room of the White House, Humphries surprised President Trump with an Order of the Echo medal for her support of women’s sports.
The Order of the Echo is a prestigious medal awarded by American Olympic and Paralympic medal winners to a coach, mentor, or supporter who played a significant role in their success.
“I want to recognize the support and impact you have had on women’s sports throughout the Olympic movement,” she told Trump. “Specifically I stand for keeping biological women in women’s sports, keeping the playing field safe, and allowing fair competition.”
The Justice Department filed suit last July against California state agencies for alleged violations of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in education programs and activities.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is a best-selling author of Los Angeles crime novels below the line and nine other crime novels and non-fiction titles. Look lovellcauffiel.com For more information.
