Legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova has defended the
US Women’s soccer team after their involvement in the national anthem controversy.
The US team opened their campaign in the FIFA Women’s World Cup
on Friday against Vietnam.
Before the start of the match, the majority of the players in the
squad did not sing the national anthem and had their fists behind their backs when
the anthem was played.
Only five players stood up and put their hands over their
hearts while singing the national anthem.
Following that, there was a mixed reaction from different quarters
on social media.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was one
of the few notable personalities who openly criticised the players
in a post on
her official Twitter account and stated that they should be proudly defending their
country.
“The US women’s soccer team is living the American Dream.
They were born in the freest, fairest country in the world that has rewarded their
hard work. They should remember that blessing & the men & women (like
my husband) proudly defending it next time the national anthem plays.”
In response to that, the former world number one Navratilova
came to the defense of the players and stated that they are proudly defending
their country by giving their all during the match.
“They are defending it by playing their hardest and winning
most of the time. Not by singing. Get a grip and start talking about solutions
rather than searching for problems where there aren’t any,” she tweeted.
The 66-year-old is one of the most successful women’s singles
tennis players in the Open era, having won as many as 18 Grand Slams in her
illustrious career.
Out of those, Navratilova had the best record while playing
at Wimbledon where she ended up lifting the women’s singles title nine times.