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The ball kids at the tournament all love
Martina Navratilova’s dogs. She brought six this time, all
packed in her car and driven four hours from her home in
Sarasota, Fla., to the Bausch and Lomb Tennis Tournament in
Amelia Island, Fla.
Chloe, Sydney, Raven, Spike, Vincent and Bina
all spent the week about 300 yards from their Mom, who was
busy playing doubles in the Stadium Court, while they were
hanging out in their own private space at the Barking Lot.
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"I have not heard of one person that came out of
the closet that wishes they could go back in." |
The Nassau County Humane Society set up the
lot for people to see dogs up for adoption. Martina’s six
dogs, Serena Williams’ Jack Russell terrier, Lindsay
Davenport’s newly adopted
Rotweiller-mix
and some of the other players’ dogs also hung out there as
their parents battled on the courts, and then ran over
between breaks to walk their dogs.
On the court, fans were cheering for Martina,
yelling out her name between sets as she played to the
crowds, laughing and joking. The 48--year-old mega-star made
it to the semifinals in doubles at this tournament.
The stands were filled with fans telling
stories about Martina. One woman saw her play more than 20
years ago, when Martina used to wear rhinestones on her
outfits, and the media joked about her weight. Other fans
recalled times they simply passed her in the hallway, or
touched her sleeve as she signed autographs.
Fans lined the ropes as Martina left the
court, holding giant, basketball-sized tennis balls used for
getting autographs.
She zipped by them, saying, “Meet me at the
Humane Society Tent!” or “Meet me at the Tennis Players
Against Breast Cancer Tent!” While the gay community claims
her as one of its top activists, Martina gives back to many
different organizations.
With few exceptions at this tournament, she
only signs autographs at the Tennis Against Breast Cancer
booth, and the Humane Society tent, signing anything with
the organization’s information on it bought for more than
$15, raising thousands for the two organizations in a few
days.
 One woman nearly keeled over in a
Beatle-mania like display, leaping up and yelping that she
got Martina’s autograph. The lines that stretched around the
courts were made up of a mix of Martina fans. Izod-shirts
and pearls mingled amicably with women with arms wrapped
tightly around each other’s waists.
I asked a father who was in line with his
6-year old son, waiting to get Martina’s autograph, what he
thought of Martina being a lesbian. Did it bother him that
his son thought of a lesbian as a hero? This tournament is
being held in Nassau County, which voted 80% Republican in
the last election.
“No, I think Martina is a bad ass!” the man
said. “Besides, I’m a ‘hetero,’ but my best friend is a gay
man.”
We asked our favorite “bad ass” what she was
up to these days, including what advice she has for athletes
who want to come out, her new book on health and fitness
launching next spring, LPGA player Rosie Jones, going
whale-watching with Olivia Cruise Lines, the “L-Word,” and
moving to Florida.
The old newspaper stories that used to
describe Martina as the “cold Eastern European” compared to
her American competitors seem like silly fairy tales now.
Martina is warm and friendly, laughing out loud in spots
throughout the interview.
Long gone are the rhinestones and headbands,
even though a life-size black and white banner that pictures
Martina in those days hangs in the entry way to the
tournament.
She now plays in casual outfits that include
shorts and a baseball cap that she turns forwards and
backwards throughout her matches. The celebrity sightings of
her around town include her trips to the local health food
store. Muscled, tan, and “very taken,” she still leaps
around the court, Martina-style, many commenting that she
looks better now than she ever has.
We chatted in the Player’s Lounge at the
Bausch and Lomb,
Q: You recently signed with Olivia Cruise
Lines. When can people sign up for a cruise with you?
A: Right now, I don’t have time to go on a
cruise-cruise, I’m just going to go in for one day. But
there are many places that they do cruises to that I would
like to visit. I might do one or two this year, but most
will be next year.
Q: If you could pick a place to go on a
cruise, where would you go?
A: I would go to Antarctica, because I want
to see the blue whales.
Q: LPGA player Rosie Jones is sponsored by
Olivia as well. Have you had a chance to talk to her?
A: No, not at all, but I am rooting for her.
She finished second at the Nabisco (Golf Tournament). It has
been great for her, I’m just happy for her that she is
feeling better about herself as a person. And that she
doesn’t have to pretend (about being gay). It’s really nice
to let it out in the open, and you can just get on with your
life, and relax.
Q: When Rosie Jones came out did she contact
you?
A: No, there is no need to. People in the (LPGA)
knew what was going on anyway. It’s just a matter of dealing
with the media, but she has been OK with that. If it’s a 20
year-old it’s one thing, but she knows what she is doing.
Q: Rosie was put under a lot of pressure when
she came out. She came out in the New York Times,
and basically said, “I’m out, I’m a golfer, and that’s it.”
And she’s stuck to that, and hasn’t really gotten involved,
like you have done. Do you think that when athletes come
out, they have an obligation to become involved in the
community?
A: Absolutely not! Absolutely not! You
don’t need to. You can be an environmentalist, and you give
your money. You do your recycling, and you don’t have to go
and preach to other people about recycling. You do your
part, just by being out and then open about it. If more
people were like that, we would have a lot fewer problems.
You do not need to be an activist. You don’t owe anybody
anything.
I was upset when people assumed that Ellen
DeGeneres should be doing more and Rosie O’Donnell should be
doing more. I’m like, doing more of what? They have just
given up their privacy, for your cause, and you want them to
do what? How much more do you need them to give to be happy?
So, no, just by being honest and out about who you are, to
me, is enough, you don’t have to do one thing, for the rest
of your life, when you are that famous, because that’s your
contribution right there.
Q: What advice do you have for athletes that
want to come out at the local level? Such as someone in a
small town, that may or may not have the support of friends
and family?
A: Coming out can be very scary, but at the
same time it is very empowering and freeing. Because if you
don’t come out, you are in a prison. You are living in a
self-inflicted prison. That is no way to live.
It is tricky for athletes in team sports,
because they could be black-balled out of the team or the
league. They could throw them off the team because they are
gay, and that still happens, and that sucks. But I would
fight. I would sue. I would bring it to light. You have to
fight, because it’s not right, and it’s not fair.
But it’s tricky for team sports also, because
you could get hurt because someone could have it in for you.
Especially for the men. I think on the women’s side, most of
the women on teams know who is gay and who is straight.
They don’t care. They just want a good ball player on their
side, and they really don’t give a damn. It’s the coaches
that get in the way.
And in men’s sports, there is that macho
bullshit that is still going on, and they are still living
in the Dark Ages, in football, baseball, and hockey a little
bit. And they think there are no gay players in the league.
Hello! Open your freaking eyes!
Q: There are some good things happening in
sports, such as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” working
with the Boston Red Sox
and programs such as the Women's
Sports Foundation's "It Takes A Team," the Homophobia in
Sports Project.
A: It is getting there, it is getting better.
Little by little. Which is why, again, the more people come
out, the easier it will be, eventually. Eventually it will
not be an issue, which is what we are all hoping for –
‘Equal rights, that is not an issue anymore!’ But, we don’t
have equal rights, so until then, we just have to keep
fighting.
Q: Would you say that any repercussions from
being in the closet are greater than any repercussions you
might have from being out of the closet?
A: The odd athlete might lose some
endorsements, but that’s really only going to happen at the
top of that sport, so for the most of them, it doesn’t have
financial repercussions, which would be a negative. But the
positive that comes out of it so far outweighs anything
negative.
I have not heard of one person that came out of the closet
that wishes they could go back in. And that is the key right
there – nobody wants to go back in the closet, and have to
pretend, and lie, and try to keep track of who you lied to,
who you are not out to, what did you say to that one, what
did you say to this person, who is this person (deep sigh).
I know women that were together for 20 years, and they were
rearranging the furniture when the parents came to visit,
and the parents knew, and they were still pretending that
they didn’t know!
It’s such a waste of energy! Use it in a
positive way. Go volunteer, go to an animal shelter. Go pick
up garbage on the beach for a mile!
Q: You have written five books, which
includes three murder mysteries, a tennis book, and an
autobiography. Any more books coming? A lot has changed
since you wrote your autobiography in 1984. Is there a
“Martina, Part II” coming?
A: I don’t need to go there. People don’t
need to know that much about me. They know enough already. I
am writing a book that will be out in the Spring of 2006
about being fit and happy. No more mysteries, except maybe
solving how to be fit and happy. I also write a tennis
column for USA Today.
Q: Having written so many books, is
writing something important to you, that you do on a daily
basis?
A: No, I try to keep track (of what I’m doing) sometimes,
but I’m really spotty about that. You put so much energy
into tennis, and then you go online, and you have 60
e-mails, so - Holy moly! It’s hard to have time. So right
now, I do tennis tournaments.
Q: You have mentioned politics a few times in
the past couple of years in articles. Is that something you
see yourself getting involved with?
A: It’s possible that someday that I may get
involved way down the road, if I can make a difference in
that way, then I will probably go that route. If it’s more
being an activist, which is more up my alley – you know you
can take a stand and say exactly what you want – without
having to worry about hurting someone’s feelings or playing
games.
You know, I’m not much of a politician or a diplomat. I
just sort of come out and blurt out whatever comes to my
head, and that doesn’t really work that well in politics,
but who knows – it’s possible.
Q: The “L Word” on Showtime: There is a
character that is a pro tennis player that comes out.
A: I liked it when it first came out, I was a
big fan. I think it fell into the toilet. It started out
good, and now I’m disgusted by it. There isn’t one decent
relationship. The worst thing is the relationships. There
isn’t one monogamous relationship. Every show has to have a
sex scene. I don’t know what they are thinking. There is
nobody in there that I relate to, that I can say, “That’s
cool! Wow! I want to be more like that!” If you are a kid
coming out, and you want to tell your parents; “Hey, this is
lesbian life,” Ahhh! I would switch the channel. I wouldn’t
want them to watch it! There isn’t one person that I see,
where I think, “I want to be like that!”
Q: You played
for a recreational hockey league in Aspen, Colo. (She played
for a team called the Mother Puckers). Do you get to play
any hockey? Do you miss the mountains?
A: I have been living in Sarasota for two
years. I am looking forward to a stopping point so I can go
back and do my winter sports. I miss that. I have a place in
Aspen that I have been trying to sell. There is a rink about
20 minutes from where I live in Sarasota, where I’ve gone
and skated around a little bit, but I don’t know if they
have any hockey leagues.
Q: You have been through the ringer with your
personal life, but I have to ask the question that everyone
wants to know – are you single, or are you ‘taken’?
A: Very taken.
I gave
Martina two-thumbs up when she answered, with a smile, that
she was "very taken," and then didn't ask her another
question about her relationship. Martina had an
ex-girlfriend write a book about her (Judy Nelson, a Texas
housewife who left her husband for Martina, then outed and
sued Martina when they broke up), with the forward to the
book written by another ex-girlfriend, best-selling novelist
Rita Mae Brown. Lesbians would agree, if you have two
ex-girlfriends collaborate on a book about you, you then
become debt-free from having to answer questions about your
dating life. While we do not know who her current girlfriend
is, other past partners include Hunter Reno (Janet Reno's
niece), and Nancy Lieberman, the legendary basketball player
and coach.
Kaki Flynn has had one-on-one interviews with
athletes such as Martina Navratilova (tennis), Nancy
Lieberman (basketball), Julie Foudy (soccer), Lisa Fernandez
(softball), Greg Norman (golf), Karen Smyers (triathlon),
Apollo Ohno (speedskating), Michael Phelps (swimming), and
hundreds of other athletes. She has freelanced for a number
of publications, including writing the sports column “In
Like Flynn” during the Olympics in Salt Lake.
April 12,
2005 |
