ABOVE: DeSantis addresses Lia Thomas’ win speaking to the press March 22. Screenshot via Rumble.
TALLAHASSEE | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation March 22 targeting University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, the first transgender athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I title.
Thomas placed first in the NCAA’s championship for the 500-yard freestyle on March 17 at Georgia Tech, finishing with a time of 4 minutes and 33.24 seconds. She bested University of Virginia student Emma Weyant, a Sarasota native who DeSantis declared the winner at 4 minutes and 34.99 seconds.
Thomas has followed NCAA and Ivy League guidelines since beginning hormone replacement therapy in 2019. Sports Illustrated highlighted her athletic career in an exclusive interview March 3, likening her to “the trans swimming dividing America.”
“I just want to show trans kids and younger trans athletes that they’re not alone,” Thomas – a senior economics major from Texas – told the outlet. “They don’t have to choose between who they are and the sport they love.”
Thomas’ win drew both widespread support and condemnation, including from DeSantis. Talking to the press March 22, the governor declared runner-up Weyant as the winner of the race before issuing the proclamation, shared via tweet.
In both instances, DeSantis cited Senate Bill 1028, the anti-LGBTQ legislation he signed into law on the first day of Pride Month last year. Deemed “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” it banned transgender girls from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity in the state.
“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 misgendered Thomas via Twitter March 22. “In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota’s Emma Weyant as the best women’s swimmer in the 500y freestyle.”
The tweet included the governor’s proclamation, which begins by noting that Weyant is an “accomplished woman who excelled in academics and athletics as a student-athlete at Riverview High School.”
It erroneously continues by noting that “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” before declaring her the winner in Florida.
“Florida rejects the NCAA’s efforts to destroy women’s athletics, disapproves of the NCAA elevating ideology over biology, and takes offense at the NCAA trying to make others complicit in a lie,” the proclamation continues.
Read the proclamation in full and view the tweet below.
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
The text can be read here:
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, during her time competing in girls’ high school swimming, Emma Weyant ranked number one in the 400-yard individual medley in the 18 & Under World 100 Ranking, was a four-time Florida High School Athletic Association 4A State Champion in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley, was the 2018 Junior Pan Pac Champion in the 400-yard individual medley, was the 2019 U.S. National Champion in the 400-yard individual medley, was named a four-time High School All-American, and was selected as a member of the U.S.National Junior Team; and
WHEREAS, Emma Weyant qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympics team and competed in the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics where she won a silver medal in the women’s 400-meter individual medley; and
WHEREAS, Emma Weyant currently attends the University of Virginia where she is a member of the school’s women’s swim team and made it to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division 1 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships; and
WHEREAS, on Thursday, March 17, 2022, Emma Weyant competed in the 500-yard freestyle race at the Division 1 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, logging the fastest time among all women swimmers; 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
WHEREAS, on June 1, 2021, I signed SB 1028, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, to preserve fair opportunities for female athletes to demonstrate their strength, skills, and abilities in athletic competition; and
WHEREAS, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act specifies that an athletic team or sport that is designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex, based on the student’s biological sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate at the time of birth; and
WHEREAS, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act applies to interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by a public secondary school, high school, public college, or university institution in the state of Florida; and
WHEREAS, women have fought for decades to have equal opportunities in athletics, and it is wrong to allow ideology to erode these opportunities as is happening in other states, and the preservation of women-specific athletic teams or sports is necessary to promote equality of athletic opportunities; and
WHEREAS, it is my determination that men should not be competing against women such as Emma Weyant, robbing women and girls of achievements, awards, and scholarships; and
WHEREAS, Florida rejects the NCAA’s efforts to destroy women’s athletics, disapproves of the NCAA elevating ideology over biology, and takes offense at the NCAA trying to make others complicit in a lie.
NOW THEREFORE, since she is a native Floridian 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 anothersignificant achievement, and express pride that she is a Florida resident.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed at Tallahassee, the Capital, this 22nd day of March, in the year two thousand twenty-two.
Ron DeSantis, Governor
Watermark reached out to the governor’s office for comment on DeSantis’ misgendering of Thomas and the necessity for the issuance of the proclamation. “The governor’s tweet and proclamation speak for themselves,” Press Secretary Christina Pushaw responded.
“He will continue to stand up for fairness in women’s sports, as he did by signing SB 1028 last year,” she adds.
DeSantis’ words have received support from at least one professional athlete, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Taylor Walls. He shared his tweet with “Couldn’t agree more.”
Couldn’t agree more https://t.co/M7ILAcob2O
— Taylor Walls (@dt_walls) March 23, 2022
Watermark has reached out to the Rays, traditionally an LGBTQ-affirming team, for comment on the matter. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Manager Kevin Cash said “There are a lot of challenging discussions in our society right now. It’s probably best that we take the time to have more discussions to find clarity in fairness to everybody. Twitter is not the best forum for that.”
Thomas hasn’t publicly responded to DeSantis’ proclamation. When asked about anti-LGBTQ demonstrations during the NCAA championship, however, she noted that “I try to ignore it as much as I can. I try to focus on my swimming .. and just try to block out everything else.”
