Navratilova complained in the German weekly Die Zeit that money matters too much in her adopted homeland and that she "exchanged one system that suppressed freedom of opinion for another." "It's depressing - decisions from America are based only on how much money comes out of them in the end, and not on the question of how much health, ethics or the environment suffer," Navratilova was quoted as saying.
Recalling growing up in communist Czechoslovakia, Navratilova added that "the most absurd thing is that, in fleeing from injustice, I only exchanged one system that suppresses freedom of opinion for another."
In an appearance Wednesday night on CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight," Navratilova said how she was quoted was "pretty accurate." "I was talking about the Bush administration making a lot of enviromental decisions, again, based on money pandering to the people that perhaps help put Bush in office," she said.
Navratilova, who defected from Czechoslovakia in 1975, explained her comment about exchanging political systems. "Well, obviously, I'm not saying this is a communist system, but I think we're having, after 9-11, there's a big centralization of power," she said. "... Americans are losing their personal rights left and right."
Navratilova, a U.S. citizen, said she may run for office one day. "I live here. I love this country. I've lived here 27 years. I've paid taxes here for 27 years," she said. "... I love it and I'm here and I'm trying to do my best to make it a better place to live in, not just this country, but the whole world." Navratilova won a record 167 singles tournaments on the WTA Tour, including 18 Grand Slam titles.
