Martina Navratilova hits out at "petty" Elon Musk after billionaire demands NPR be defunded

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova took a dig at Elon Musk after the billionaire demanded NPR be defunded.

The row between social media giant Twitter and NPR arose when Twitter flagged NPR as a "state-affiliated media". The label is reserved for media outlets controlled by governments in authoritarian countries. In response, NPR decided not to post any content on the platform.

NPR, in a statement, condemned the move and said the social media platform undermined their credibility and falsely implied that they were not editorially independent.

"The platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” NPR had said in a statement.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, responded to a question on whether the move could cause a chain reaction by saying:

"Defund @NPR."

Taking to Twitter, Martina Navratilova opined that the Musk-led social media platform was behaving very petty.

"Petty beyond belief," she tweeted in response to a news story on the same.

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Martina Navratilova beats cancer successfully for second time

Martina Navratilova at the US Open in 2022.

Martina Navratilova has defeated cancer for the second time in her life, with the latest being a couple of months ago.

Navratilova had disclosed at the beginning of this year that she was diagnosed with stage one throat and breast cancer. She was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.

After undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments, Navratilova stated on March 21 that she was cancer-free once again.

Several former tennis players, including Boris Becker and Chris Evert, congratulated Navratilova on beating cancer.

"Such relief! Well done, Martina, sending lots of (love)," Evert said.

"Did you hear the good news ?!? So relieved the legend and extraordinary woman Martina beat the devil… she is as tough as they come," Becker wrote on Instagram.

Soon after her recovery, Navratilova returned to work as she commented during the Miami Open.

In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, the 18-time Grand Slam champion highlighted the assistance she received from former rival and close friend Evert, a fellow cancer survivor. She expressed her appreciation for Evert's unwavering support during the difficult journey.

“Our careers are always intertwined and then we follow each other this way. You can’t just make it up. The parallels are unbelievable. Same place. Some of the same nurses. Chris has been just a star. She has supported me so much through this as I supported her a year ago. We were always there for each other no matter what," Navratilova said.