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What counts as $75,000-worth of "inappropriate and repugnant marketing"? What icky images pushed tennis star Martina Navratilova over the edge and caused her to sue her own business partners in Do Tell, Inc., the folks behind the queer Rainbow Visa credit card project?

Finally, some possibilities are trickling out: One story says: "At the heart of Navratilova’s complaint is the allegation that Do Tell wanted to advertise the Rainbow Card on a television show that the tennis star said portrayed gays in a negative light, according to [Navratilova's attorney, John] Chapman. He declined to name the TV show or identify on which channel it appears, but did say it is currently being broadcast. The marketing of the card on the show did not eventually occur, Chapman added." Well, there aren't that many shows the Rainbow Card might be interested in... "The L Word?" "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?" [ADDED April 1: Duh, there's no lesbian on Queer Eye. I meant that new variant, the one that includes a lesbian in the cast named Honey Labrador] What else is out there? Would they bother paying for ads on a show that wasn't specifically queer?

The Philadelphia Gay News also has some the dirt: there might be an element of friendship gone bad. The principals in the 10-year-old Rainbow Card company are Nancy Becker and Pam Derderian. Minority shareholder Navratilova is the godmother of the pair's daughter. (Navratilova's image has since been removed from company marketing materials.)

Nonetheless, this is a story about big business. In a completely separate report, PGN notes: "A portion of the credit card fees are given to the Rainbow Endowment, a nonprofit organization the three women formed to promote the health and social well being" of LGBTs. "Since 1996, the Rainbow Endowment... has distributed 78 million grants totaling nearly $1.5 million." Of course, a credit card business can't do it all on its own. It needs to plug in to mainstream mega corporations for all sorts of banking-related services. The Rainbow Card is sponsored by MBNA. That company "recently surpassed Enron as President George W. Bush's top lifetime contributor, according to the Center for Public Integrity."

Cancel your MBNA credit card over an issue of ethics, and you screw a lesbian business funneling cash into its own community, while trying to build queer visibility and change the world. Make a choice.