Megan Rapinoe's transgender athlete comments criticized by Martina Navratilova

U.S. Women's National Team legend Megan Rapinoe has been criticized for her stance on trans athletes in women's sports by Martina Navratilova -Credit:Lou Rocco, ABC via Getty Images

The debate surrounding trans athletes in the WNBA continues to intensify following Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's initial remarks in an ESPN feature about excluding "biological" men from women's sports.

Former U.S. Women's National Team star Megan Rapinoe has repeatedly criticized Cunningham, challenging the Fever player's choice to photograph alongside Riley Gaines, whom Rapinoe characterized as having a "life mission to exclude trans people from public life."

Rapinoe appeared on The View this week and addressed trans women and women's sports, referencing legislation in Washington. This segment was presented to 18-time Grand Slam tennis champion Martina Navratilova, who took issue with it, labeling Rapinoe's statements as illogical.

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"We're attacking women," Rapinoe said, via The Mirror US . "There's a bill in Washington right now that's going to require all girls to go through a sex test. It's like examining their genitals to see if they are a woman. And that has not worked out well historically."

Navratilova viewed this segment on Piers Morgan's show, and the former tennis champion promptly reacted.

"[Her] logic is illogical," she said. "It is so far out. Btw (by the way), her team lost to a team of 15-year-old boys. The Olympic team lost to a 15-year-old boys' team."

Navratilova was alluding to a 2017 scrimmage between the U.S. Women's National Team and a U15 FC Dallas squad - a 5-2 victory for the boys.

"Yes, it's true," Carli Lloyd said later of the game. "I know... thousands of people have already brought that up. They were good."

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Navratilova then flashed her muscles. "No matter how hard I work, I still can't compete with the guys on the ATP," she said.

But that wasn't the extent of her comments to Morgan. The former tennis star also called on Cunningham's Fever teammate Caitlin Clark, who has sidestepped questions regarding trans women in basketball, to address the issue head-on.

"Caitlin is trying to be neutral here, but you cannot be neutral when it comes to your sport; this is not some political issue. This is not some outsider issue," Navratilova said.

"This is a basketball issue just as much as it was a tennis issue, and it is every female sport issue. So I wish she would speak out because that would really help everybody else to speak out about it.

"As I say, courage is contagious, and it shouldn't take courage to be able to speak out about it But Caitlin Clark's been dealing with a lot of other -------- literally, so I don't blame her for it. But I do wish that she would speak out."

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