Martina Navratilova has message for Donald Trump, wears 'Impeach' hat at Wimbledon
The All England Club is perhaps the starchiest venue in all of major sports (apologies to Augusta National).
A nine-time Wimbledon winner, Martina Navratilova is the venue’s greatest champion.
The two sides came to a head on Tuesday.
Navratilova’s message for Trump at Wimbledon
Navratilova took the court for a Wimbledon legends doubles match and challenged the All England Club’s most sacred virtue — its dress code.
No, she didn’t wear color. She got political.
The 18-time major champion wore a white hat with the word “Impeach” emblazoned in all capital letters.
Martina Navratilova wore an “IMPEACH” hat through the first game of a #Wimbledon legends’ doubles match today, until an official asked her to take it off during the first changeover, which she quickly did.
“Sorry about that,” Martina said. “Forgot I had it on.”
(H/t @beefbreen) pic.twitter.com/JFg5KHOcz9— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 9, 2019
That message, of course, is a clear indication of Navratilova’s stance on the debate over whether the U.S. House of Representatives should begin impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump over questions of obstruction of justice, election interference and general fitness for office.
‘Sorry about that’
According to The New York Times’ Ben Rothenberg, when officials asked her to remove the hat, she complied with a coy response.
“Sorry about that,” Navratilova reportedly said. “Forgot I had it on.”
This is not the first time Navratilova — who was born in Prague but became a U.S. citizen in 1981 and now lives in Miami — has worn her hat.
She tweeted in June about wearing it in Florida and pondered why she doesn’t see “MAGA” hats in public.
So I drove across central Florida all day yesterday, with my IMPEACH hat on and it got me wondering. Why at trump rallies most people wear the #magahats but I never see them in “public”. Are they all in the closet except for when they are in the majority, full of themselves?🤔
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 26, 2019
Navratilova’s made prior statements on tennis court
Tuesday wasn’t the first time Navratilova made a social or political statement with her tennis attire either.
According to Rothenberg, Navratilova, who is gay, wore rainbow trim at the 2012 Australian Open while playing at Margaret Court Arena.
Not the first time Martina Navratilova has made political fashion statements on court at Grand Slams.
In 2012, after another round of homophobic remarks by Margaret Court, she trimmed her shirt with rainbow ribbon along the cuffs and hem for wearing on Margaret Court Arena. pic.twitter.com/aMYqjRth0H— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 9, 2019
Court is Australia’s greatest tennis player and a 24-time grand slam champion. She’s also spent much of her retirement espousing homophobic rhetoric, inspiring calls for her name to be removed from the arena.
There are surely many who would prefer and even demand that Navratilova stick to sports. Navratilova clearly doesn’t care what those people think.
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Jason Owens is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter.
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