Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said it was “time to riot everywhere” in response to the death of George Floyd.
“Time to riot everywhere, ” the 63-year-old former professional tennis player tweeted to her hundreds of thousands of followers, in a since-deleted post, following the death of Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died in police custody. The comments were noted by The Hill in a piece published Thursday.(RELATED: Video Surfaces Of Police Officer With Knee On Man’s Throat, Man Later Died)
Former tennis star Martina Navratilova on George Floyd killing: “Time to riot everywhere” https://t.co/0pWd0XYDAR pic.twitter.com/LDTx1kQse4
— The Hill (@thehill) May 29, 2020
Not long after her tweet, people questioned the tennis star about her comments and if she would really be the one out there rioting. (RELATED: Minneapolis Police Protesters Seen Looting TVs, Clothes From Target)
I respect Martina a ton in general, but is she REALLY going to riot? If she does, is it likely that a cop will kill her in a heated moment, or that she’ll get arrested and lose her livelihood and then home because of a court date? Will a riot burn down *her* neighborhood? pic.twitter.com/JqeZiXWQDM
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) May 28, 2020
Navratilova then hit back saying that her call for riots everywhere wasn’t a call “to any violence whatsoever.” (SLIDESHOW: Anna Kournikova: The Best To Ever Play The Game)
“To all those who have an issue with me calling for riots everywhere- please look up the many definitions of riot,” Martina tweeted. “This is not a call to any violence whatsoever- for example this a definition of riot ‘an unbridled outbreak, as of emotions, passions, etc.'”
To all those who have an issue with me calling for riots everywhere- please look up the many definitions of riot. This is not a call to any violence whatsoever- for example this a definition of riot
“an unbridled outbreak, as of emotions, passions, etc.”
So simmer down!!!— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) May 28, 2020
“So simmer down!!!” she added, before she followed up her tweet a short time later with a post that included a quote attributed to from Martin Luther King, Jr. that read, “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
“As I was saying…But let me rephrase so the right wingers don’t have another fake fit-It’s time to protest everywhere,” the Czechoslovak-born American tweeted.
As I was saying…
But let me rephrase so the right wingers dont have another fake fit-
It’s time to protest everywhere. https://t.co/hSUiE8xytI— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) May 28, 2020
Navratilova became a U.S. citizen in 1981 and retired from her legendary tennis career in 2006 after winning 18 Grand Slam titles.