News Round-Up: February 20, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• I might be a little obsessed with this handsome face. InstaHunk Steve_In_LA is pretty easy on the eyes as well ;)

• New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has called for feds to 'break the patent' on Truvada, which is commonly prescribed as PrEP. Since the federal government helped fund the research for the drug, it has the right to break the patent and allow other companies to produce a generic version. PrEP has been shown to be 99% effective in protecting against HIV infection when used on a daily basis.

• The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate has voted to scrap all protected characteristics, including gender identity, race and sexual orientation, from a proposed hate crime bill. Indiana is one of only five states with no hate crime law in place.

• A lesbian couple in Indiana were refused service by their tax preparer, Nancy Fivecoate, because they were married. Fivecoate says she has gay clients, but she can't work for gay married clients. What do taxes have to do with religious beliefs?

• 18-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova has been removed from the advisory board of pro-LGBTQ sports organization Athlete Ally for her recent anti-transgender remarks. The tennis champ says its 'cheating' to let trans women compete in women's sports.

• As he was recovering from a life-shaking breakup, out singer/songwriter Kisos penned (in real time) his upcoming EP, sweet nothings, featuring one track for each of the 5 stages of grief.

The lead single, "Happily Ever After," is a bouncy electro-pop bop with the handsome artist deep in denial, using delusion as poisoned motivation to better himself and survive the pain of seeing his ex with someone new.

Hit the play button below and enjoy! "Happily Ever After" is available now - click here.

Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Tweets & Deletes Regarding Trans Athletes

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova (image via Twitter)

For almost 40 years, tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been a vocal champion for human rights and the LGBTQ community.

But recently, the 18-time Grand Slam champ made a rare misstep as she took to Twitter to complain about transgender athletes in sports.

“You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women,” Navratilova tweeted. “There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”

Navratilova's remarks drew quick condemnation from trans activists, and the tennis icon quickly deleted her tweet.

You got that right. To all the people on this thread- I am totally and completely pro- trans people or any part of the spectrum. I do not wish to define anyone. All I want is fairness on the playing field. That is it. How we get to that is a discussion for the ages…

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) December 20, 2018

Even after the deletion, though, the criticism continued. Dr Rachel McKinnon, who won a women's event at the UCI Masters track world championships, wasn’t satisfied.

A Canadian cyclist and transgender activist, McKinnon was identified as male before transitioning in her 20s. Her win at the Los Angeles event this past October sparked controversy.

On Twitter, McKinnon denounced Navratilova’s “pro-trans’ tweet and added, “Genitals do not play sports.”

No, you are not "pro- trans people" if you say that trans women with a penis must not compete in women's sport. That's transphobic.

Genitals do not play sports. What part of a penis is related to tennis? How does that 'level' any playing field? https://t.co/h7ZLsCVOQy

— Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) December 20, 2018

As Cyd Zeigler at Outsports notes, several sporting organizations have addressed the issue of trans-inclusion to give trans women the opportunity to compete as women without having gender-reassignment surgery. The International Olympic Committee made that shift three years ago, and he NCAA has had such a policy since 2011.

Navratilova eventually stepped back after Renee Richards, a pioneer in transgender athletes, weighed in.

“Ok - I take it back,” wrote Navratilova. “Clearly I don't know what u [sic] am talking about. So once again - I will defer to Renee Richards as she certainly knows what she is talking about. I will find that tweet and delete it. All I want is fairness. Thank you.”

I am sorry if I said anything anywhere near transphobic- certainly I meant no harm - I will educate myself better on this issue but meantime I will be quiet about it. Thank you

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) December 21, 2018

There's no doubt in my mind Navratilova had zero bad intentions when she shared that tweet. I do think it's telling of a champion that she publicly admitted to stepping back and committed to educating herself on the issue.

But Navratilova and McKinnon each took one last swipe back at each other:

Umm...

...wow. Martina, engaging with you and holding you accountable for your public transphobic comments is not 'bullying,' and is not 'nasty.' I hope you see your way to regretting how you've handled this.

— Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) December 21, 2018

Rachel- you might be an expert on all things trans, but you are one nasty human being. Attack attack attack. I will not take it from you. Not blocking you but enough already.

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) December 21, 2018

(h/t Outsports)

Martina Navratilova Pens Open Letter Suggesting Name Change For Margaret Court Arena

Martina Navratilova

In a recent radio interview, 74 year-old tennis legend Margaret Court told a Christian radio station that “tennis is full of lesbians” and transgender children are influenced by the Devil and are part of a mind control plot as seen in Nazi Germany.

Having now set the stage, I now yield the floor to the great Martina Navratilova.

Via the Sydney Morning Herald:

Dear Margaret Court Arena, Sporting venues named for athletes, or any place, really, named for whoever, are so named for one reason. That reason is their whole body of work. In other words, it is not just for what this person did on the field, on the court, in politics, arts or science, for instance, but also for who they are as human beings.

When you were named after Margaret Court, it seemed like the right thing to do. After all, Rod Laver already had the big stadium and Court is one of the all-time greats. I had long ago forgiven Court for her headline-grabbing comments in 1990 when she said I was a bad role model because I was a lesbian.

What I did not know about until now were the unabashed racist statements she made in the ’70s about apartheid in South Africa. Saying that South Africa dealt with the “situation” (meaning people of colour) much better than anywhere else in the world, particularly the US: what exactly did she mean by that?

Fast forward to today and Court’s announcement of her boycott of Qantas because of its chief executive’s support of same-sex marriage, which basically means support for the LGBT community in general. That was bad enough. Now she is doubling down with her ridiculous comments about older women luring young girls on the tour to parties to turn them into lesbians. It’s a good thing she didn’t name anyone as I am pretty sure she would be sued for defamation.

It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe. Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights (note to Court: we are human beings, too). She is demonising trans kids and trans adults everywhere.

And now, linking LGBT to Nazis, communists, the devil? This is not OK. This is in fact sick and it is dangerous. Kids will suffer more because of this continuous bashing and stigmatising of our LGBT community.

How much blood will be on Margaret’s hands because kids will continue to get beaten for being different? This is not OK. Too many will die by suicide because of this kind of intolerance, this kind of bashing and yes, this kind of bullying. This is not OK.

We celebrate free speech, but that doesn’t mean it is free of consequences – not punishment, but consequences. We should not be celebrating this kind of behaviour, this kind of philosophy. The platform people like Margaret Court use needs to be made smaller, not bigger.

Which is why I think it’s time to change your name. And I think the Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it. Now there is a person we can all celebrate. On every level. Yours, Martina Navratilova.

Tennis Hall Of Famer Martina Navratilova Marries Long-Time Partner Julia Lemigova

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova adds another title to her long list of accomplishments: Wife.

This past Monday, the 58 year old tennis Hall of Famer married long-term partner Julia Lemigova.