Ron DeSantis Marks Beginning of Pride Month by Banning Biological Males from Competing in Girls’ Sports
Evan James
|
Governor Ron DeSantis has officially barred biological males who’ve “transitioned” from competing on girls’ public school sports teams.
The Florida governor signed a bill outlawing the practice on Tuesday, no less—the day that kicks off “Pride Month.”
The newly minted law, titled the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” takes effect July 1. According to WFLA, the final version “stripped away some of its most contentious elements, including a requirement that transgender athletes in high schools and colleges undergo testosterone or genetic testing and submit to having their genitalia examined.”
Nevertheless, the bill requires transgender student athletes to furnish a birth certificate confirming that they were born biological females. It also allows a female student “deprived of an athletic opportunity” to sue a school that violates the law.
“In Florida, girls are going to play girls’ sports and boys are going to play boys’ sports,” DeSantis said before signing the bill at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville. “That’s what we’re doing. We’re going to make sure that that’s the reality.”
DeSantis then allowed Selina Soule, a female track runner from Connecticut, to speak about her experience competing against two biological males who shattered record after record in girls’ track. As a junior at the state championships in 2019, Soule finished one place away from qualifying for the 55-meter dash at the New England regionals, but the biological male athletes took first and second place.
State Sen. Kelli Stargel (R) also had the opportunity to speak about the bill she sponsored.
“This bill is very simply about making sure that women can safely compete, have opportunities and physically be able to excel in a sport that they trained for, prepared for and work for,” she said. “This is nothing about anybody being discriminated against. It’s solely so that women have an opportunity to compete in women’s sports.”
Share: