Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Tuesday for allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against biological women, Politico reports.
"The NCAA is basically taking efforts to destroy women’s athletics," DeSantis said at a bill signing event outside of Tampa. "They’re trying to undermine the integrity of the competition, and they’re crowning somebody else the women’s champion."
DeSantis has joined a chorus of conservatives in criticizing the organization over its position on transgender athletes and University of Pennsylvania swimmer Thomas.
According to Politico, transgender women have been allowed to compete in women’s sports in the Olympics since 2003 and the NCAA since 2010.
The Sunshine State’s Republican governor declared University of Virginia freshman swimmer Emma Weyant the "best female" in the 500-meter freestyle race and honored the Sarasota native with a proclamation.
Thomas beat Weyant by 1.75 seconds during last week’s race to clinch the NCAA title.
DeSantis’ comments were made after he promised to sign the Parental Rights in Education bill that limits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in school.
The bill — which prohibits classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender issues for kindergarten through third grade — has received widespread condemnation from Democrats, including President Joe Biden.
The Walt Disney Co. opposed to the legislation and has publicly clashed with DeSantis over it.
Calling Disney a "woke" corporation, The Hill reports DeSantis said, "The chance that I am going to back down from my commitment to students and back down from my commitment to parents rights simply because of fraudulent media narratives or pressure from woke corporations — the chances of that are zero."
According to published reports, Thomas previously swam three seasons on the UPenn men’s team before transitioning. She followed all NCAA guidelines in place at the time of her transition and afterward to be eligible to compete.
In recent months she placed first in several women’s events before competing in the Ivy Leave and NCAA championships.
The swimmer made waves in recent months after the NCAA updated its policy on transgender athletes, prompting outcry from both sides of the issue.
In 2021, Florida joined several GOP-majority states in passing legislation limiting transgender athletes’ participation in biological women’s and girls’ sports.
Known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, the Florida bill requires that K-12 and college sports teams be organized based on "biological" sex and permits students to verify their sex through a birth certificate.
According to Politico, at least 10 other states have passed similar bills.
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