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Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said in a video ad that she would not defect to the United States if today’s situation was around when she left Czechoslovakia.
Navratilova made the video for “Home of the Brave,” an online community launched earlier this year that describes itself as a place for those who have been “hurt by the Trump administration.” Navratilova has long been a critic of Trump.
In the video, Navratilova hinted at similarities she has seen between the present-day United States and the communist country in which she grew up.
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Martina Navratilova, during the Mixed Invitation Doubles round robin with playing partner Nenad Zimonjic on Court No. 12, played against Fabrice Santoro of France and Anne Keothavong of Great Britain during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon on July 9, 2025 in London, England. (Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
“I defected from a totalitarian regime and like hell I want to be cowed again and have to be careful what I say. I grew up in a communist country, Czechoslovakia. So I know what it looks and feels like to live in a totalitarian regime where you can’t speak your mind, or worse, put in jail because of American political views, but I’m so proud that I’m so proud of it. Trump is doing to our country,” Trump said Navratilova to begin the video.
“I’m p—-d as hell that people are capitulating to Trump. Whether it’s law firms, schools, politicians or corporations, we are too big to fail. If we stand together, but divided, we fall. And that’s what Trump is counting on. Chaos, fear. This was the freest country in the world when I defected in 1975, if this situation was absolutely not here, I would choose for me now.
“My fear is that people are just too complacent, too scared and think they don’t matter. And we all matter. As a tennis player, you’re used to fighting. You have to fight for every point, and it kind of gives you that backbone. I’m not going to be silent. Not speaking out is resignation, and that’s just unacceptable. When you’re leaving a completely free regime and speaking to a completely free country, of course. Speaking out is the patriotic thing to do, so don’t be afraid.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova during the trophy presentations she presented with Chris Evert after the women’s singles final on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the 2024 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 8, 2024 in Paris, France. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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One policy issue on which Navratilova has sided with Trump is transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. Navratilova has long been outspoken that girls and women should not play against biological males.
Last December, she said she was “mad” that Republicans had tackled the nationwide controversy over trans athletes in women’s sports instead of Democrats.
“And I’m so mad about it the republicans caught this issue – shame on all the elected democrats who are silent on this!!! #whataboutthewomen,” she wrote on X.
The tennis legend appeared at the Independent Women’s Forum’s “Take Back Title IX” rally in June to address the issue, claiming she was “homophobic” despite being “out since ’81.”
Martina Navratilova looks on during the women’s singles final between Coco Gauff of the United States and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on day thirteen of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens in New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
“‘You’re a bigot, you’re a transphobe, you’re a Nazi, you’re a fascist, you’re a communist,’ everything and everything in between. And this is coming from the left. I’m the left! My people are turning on me. They’re turning on us women who stand up for women’s sex-based rights.”
