"Criminal and unforgivable" - Martina Navratilova furious as Virginia high school track star suffers concussion after opponent's brutal attack

Martina Navratilova was enraged at the unethical display of sportsmanship as a Virginia high school sprinter struck her opponent with the baton. Track athlete Kaelen Tucker survived a concussion after she was struck from behind by another runner during the 4x200 relay race at the Virginia State High School League Championships.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion has always been a loud advocate of the upliftment of women in sports and has revolutionized tennis for women for years to come. She spent 34 years as a pro and won 167 singles titles throughout her career.

The tennis legend was infuriated after seeing a clip of the incident that surfaced online. She took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the post and condemn the action vehemently.

"This is criminal and unforgivable," she wrote.

Tucker's baton flew out of her hand immediately as she fell to the ground after being struck. In an interview with ABC, the injured athlete spoke as she recalled the incident after surviving the concussion:

"I just felt a bang on my head, and then I fell off the track immediately," Tucker said.

Martina Navratilova has also been an advocate for the protection of women in sports and protested strongly against transgender women competing in women's sports.

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When Martina Navratilova expressed her controversial opinion on transgender athletes in women's sports

Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon 1978 - Source: Getty

Martina Navratilova has been one of the most influential queer icons in the sport of tennis. She came out to the public with her identity in the year 1981 and has advocated for queer rights all her life.

However, she believes that women's sports and transgender sports should be different due to the physical superiority that the trans athletes have over biological women. In the podcast 'On with Kara Swisher', she spoke candidly with the host regarding this issue.

"So we are not against trans athletes. We are for women athletes to compete in as level a playing field as possible which means the males, who now identify as women, should compete in a male category. And women who identify as men but don’t take testosterone can compete as women. Because there is still no advantage physically over other women athletes. That’s all that’s about," she said (29:07 onwards).

She clarified her stance by saying that she intended to ask for an unbiased platform for all athletes to flourish.