No, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not ban transgenders from competing in sports.
DeSantis signed “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” It does not allow transgender females to participate in female sports.
In other words, athletes must compete in sports associated with their biological sex.
“We’re gonna go based off biology, not based off ideology when we’re doing sports,” stated DeSantis before he signed the bill.
It’s simple science:
(2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.-It is the intent of the Legislature to provide opportunities for female athletes to demonstrate their skill, strength, and athletic abilities while also providing them with opportunities to obtain recognition and accolades, college scholarships, and the numerous other long39 term benefits that result from success in athletic endeavors and to promote sex equality by requiring the designation of separate sex-specific athletic teams or sports.(3) DESIGNATION OF ATHLETIC TEAMS OR SPORTS.—(a) Interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by a public, primary or secondary school, a public postsecondary institution, or any school or institution whose students or teams compete against a public school or public postsecondary institution shall be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex:1. Males, men, or boys;2. Females, women, or girls; or3. Coed or mixed.(b) Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex.
DeSantis signed the bill in Jacksonville, FL. It will go into effect on July 1.
“I can tell you this: in Florida, girls are going to play girls sports, and boys are going to play boy sports,” declared DeSantis.
The school will resolve any issues by asking for the student’s birth certificate. The institution can also request a medical examination.
“We believe in the state of Florida protecting the fairness and the integrity of women’s athletics,” continued DeSantis. “We believe that it’s very important that the integrity of those competitions are preserved. That these opportunities are protected.”
High school athletes in Connecticut filed a lawsuit to block biological males from female sports. A judge dismissed the lawsuit but the athletes plan to try again.
Florida is the seventh state to pass a bill blocking transgender females from female sports: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
The Human Rights Campaign plans to sue Florida over the law. President Alphonso David wrote in a press release:
The Human Rights Campaign will always stand up to anti-equality forces on behalf of transgender kids, and that is exactly what we plan to do by legally challenging this ban on the participation of transgender girls and women in sports. Gov. DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are legislating based on a false, discriminatory premise that puts the safety and well-being of transgender children on the line. Transgender kids are kids; transgender girls are girls. Like all children, they deserve the opportunity to play sports with their friends and be a part of a team. Transgender youth must not be deprived of the opportunity to learn important skills of sportsmanship, healthy competition, and teamwork. The harmful provisions added to SB 1028 will not just impact transgender people in Florida. All Floridians will have to face the consequences of this anti-transgender legislation — including economic harm, expensive taxpayer-funded legal battles, and a tarnished reputation. In Florida, we are ensuring that there are legal consequences to pay for being on the wrong side of history.
Fairness In Women’s Sports by Matt Papaycik
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