Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) issued a proclamation declaring University of Virginia swimmer Emma Weyant the rightful national champion in the 500-yard freestyle women’s swimming national championship. The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) declared national champion is Lia Thomas, born William Thomas, who was born a man and identifies as a transgender female.
Weyant is a Sarasota, Florida native and finished 1.75 seconds behind Thomas in the championship contest. DeSantis said the NCAA is “making a mockery of its championships.”
“By allowing men to compete in women’s sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud,” DeSantis said on Twitter. “In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota’s Emma Weyant as the best women’s swimmer in the 500y freestyle.”
By allowing men to compete in women's sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud.
In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota's Emma Weyant as the best women's swimmer in the 500y freestyle. pic.twitter.com/tBmFxFE3q6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 22, 2022
In the proclamation, DeSantis said, “Florida rejects the NCAA’s efforts to destroy women’s athletics.”
“WHEREAS, Emma Weyant of Sarasota is an accomplished woman who excelled in academics and athletics as a student-athlete at Riverview High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society, a Scholastic All-American, and an award winning swimmer; and…
…
WHEREAS, a male identifying as a woman was allowed to compete in and was declared the winner of the race by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Emma was determined to have come in second place; and
WHEREAS, the NCAA’s actions serve to erode opportunities for women athletes and perpetuate a fraud against women athletes as well as the public at large; and
…
NOW THEREFORE, since she is a native Floridians from Sarasota, I, Ron DeSantis, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby declare in Florida that Emma Weyant is the rightful winner of the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s 500-yard Freestyle, congratulate her on yet another significant achievement, and express pride that she is a Florida resident.”
Last year, DeSantis signed a bill into law banning transgender women from competing in high school and collegiate sports. The bill became known as the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” where DeSantis said “we won’t be cowed by pressure from Woke corporations” after notable major companies threatened to pull out of Florida over the bill.
Last month, a judge announced a civil rights lawsuit over the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act will likely come down to the result of a separate, but related, transgender bathroom lawsuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta will hear oral arguments on February 22nd over the bathroom case. A decision has yet to come and will likely occur sometime this Spring.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0.
