JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday signed a measure to protect girls’ and women’s sports, emphasizing the state’s commitment to protecting girls from far-left attempts to allow biological boys to compete in women’s athletics.
Speaking from Trinity Christian Academy on Tuesday, the Republican governor said the bill will ensure that opportunities are protected for young women.
“In Florida, girls are going to play girls sports, and boys are going to play boys sports,” he said, prompting applause in the room.
Many far-left critics, however, have cast such measures as both discriminatory and harmful to children. Florida State Sen. Victor Torres (D), for example, claimed the would effectively “destroy the lives of those children and their futures.”
Nikki Fried, Florida’s 12th Commissioner of Agriculture, also criticized the governor following the signing, referring to the measure as a “heartless ban on transgender kids in sports.”
However, DeSantis addressed his critics, telling Breitbart News the bill is far from discriminatory.
“I think the opposite’s true. I think if you have a biological male competing against these women athletes like we saw Selina [Soule] from Connecticut, she was deprived of being able to advance in New England regional because the top two finishers were biological males,” he explained, referencing the Connecticut high school track star who spoke at Tuesday’s press conference.
“If she competed on an even playing field, she would have been able to advance and advance her career. So what we’re really doing is protecting women against discrimination in athletic competition,” DeSantis added. “I think that’s something that’s really important — that we preserve the integrity and fairness of these girls’ and women’s sports.”
Watch:
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signs a bill that will ban transgender students from participating in girls’ youth sports. pic.twitter.com/hXNaIHZdn9
— The Recount (@therecount) June 1, 2021
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