Martina Navratilova: Anti-gay laws make it ‘impossible’ to separate sport from politics at Sochi Games
Tennis star Martina Navratilova has warned that anti-gays laws in Russia will make it “impossible” to separate sport from politics at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
According to AFP, the openly gay ex-Wimbledon champion spoke out against the International Olympic Committee on the sidelines of the Australian open.
She said: “The athletes are told by the IOC to not make any protests, any statements, and really separate the politics from sport, which is impossible.
“It’s a controversial situation there and it will be interesting how it all unfolds.”
She said: ““I think we can say that sports and politics are inextricably combined – they go hand in hand – and that’s where my disappointment was with the IOC,”
Russian president Vladimir Putin passed the law banning “gay propaganda” in June last year.
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