Martina Navratilova says Jason Collins a “pioneer”
Tennis star Martina Navratilova joined the show to talk about Jason Collins announcing he was gay in Sports Illustrated on Monday.
Navratilova said she wasn’t totally surprised. “I figured it was only a matter of time,” Navratilova said.
Navratilova said that this is huge because he’s the first, and it will help a lot of young people. She said he was a “pioneer.”
Navratilova said that 10, 20 years ago it was a different atmosphere. She said 10 years ago Reggie White was an anti-gay spokesperson and the NFL supported him.
Navratilova also addressed how women have been treated differently on this topic. She said it was OK to ask her, but it wasn’t OK to ask male players if they were gay.
Navratilova said that she didn’t want to talk about her sexuality, but she was asked about it and there is reason to discuss it. “I don’t want it to be a big deal,” she said. “But we don’t have equal rights.”