Martina Navratilova on Gay Men in Tennis

In a lengthy interview with Outsports, Martina Navratilova says she believes she has lost over $10 million in endorsement deals because of openness about her sexuality, but doesn't know why there are no openly gay men in professional tennis:

"I have no idea. I don’t personally know any who are gay, because none have come out to me. Honest to God. I have suspicions, but I don’t know of one who’s definitely gay. I read that letter to Tennis magazine [in 1994] from an anonymous male player who said 'thank you because we’re not all as brave as you are,' but I don’t know who they are. But I don’t know why. It can’t be because they’re all worried about endorsements, because most of them don’t get any anyway. And now, perhaps they’d get one because they are gay. It’s funny. I understand it in team sports because it can become a negative if the coach or the front office is homophobic and you might not get to play; let alone that your opponents might come after you. But in tennis, nobody can stop you from playing because of your sexuality or if someone doesn’t like you. If your ranking is good enough, you get to play. It’s very simple. So I don’t know why none have come out."

Maybe the $10 million has something to do with it.

I've chosen a photo of Frenchman Richard Gasquet to go with this post not because the player has said he's gay but because he's felt the need to deny it — twice.

Martina Navratilova on the AARP and drugs and gays in tennis [outsports]

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Tennis #8 Richard Gasquet: Nope, Still Not Gay [tr]
Wimbledon Semi-finalist Richard Gasquet: It's Obvious I'm Not Gay [tr]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #191

BILL MAHER: Andrew Sullivan, General Wesley Clark, and Martina Navratilova appear on the show to talk about Bush, ruling through fear, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama's gospel tour. And Part Two, on being scared of the wrong things...

IAN MCKELLEN: His recent appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

DUMBLEDORE: The right-wing flip-out. It's going to cause young boys to come down with STDs.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here!

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News: Suri Cruise, DC Murder, Tennessee Williams

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Warhol "Beautiful People" exhibition to open in East Hampton.

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Stipe and Douglas shop together, stroll, nibble gelato on Italian date.

Poll: cracks appearing in Bush NASCAR support.

The Parade or Approaching the End of a Summer: Unproduced autobiographical Tennessee Williams play set in Provincetown is to have its world premiere there on October 1st.

Martina Navratilova has urged Lance Bass to become a role model in a letter to People magazine: "Coming out to your family and friends is hard enough; to do so to the world is a lot harder. I know, as I took this step more than 25 years ago...So as our fight for equality continues, I will not be surprised to one day see Lance Bass marching with the rest of us, right there in the front row." If anyone has a copy of People, feel free to post the full text of the letter in the comments.

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