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Tennis legend at centre of latest Wimbledon outfit controversy
Martina Navratilova has sparked Wimbledon’s latest outfit controversy over her choice of hat for a legends doubles match on Tuesday.
The All England Club is perhaps the strictest venue in all of major sports, and not even a nine-time champion can get around their infamous dress code.
Navratilova took the court and challenged the sacred virtue which states players must only wear white.
Not only did Navratilova wear a hat with red writing on it, she also 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 is a clear indication of Navratilova’s stance on the debate over whether the US House of Representatives should begin impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump over questions of obstruction of justice, election interference and general fitness for office.
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.”
Novak Djokovic was also asked to remove a hat he was wearing last week because it had black trim underneath the brim.
This is not the first time Navratilova — who was born in Prague but became a US 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.
No stranger to on-court statements
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.
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.
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
With Yahoo Sports
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