DeSantis Stands Up to NCAA's Threat Over Transgender Sports Law: 'To Hell with These Events'
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Tuesday night during a Fox News interview about the new law he signed banning transgender athletes who identify as women from female sports, saying he is “much more willing to stand” with female athletes.
“I think as these bills were going through various legislatures, I remember the NCAA put out a statement saying any state that enacts this, we’re not going to hold events there,” DeSantis told Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
FL Gov Ron DeSantis signed a law banning trans female athletes from competing against biological girls in sports. He did this, he tells #TuckerCarlson, despite pressure from corporate interests. pic.twitter.com/6iSOCGvoF6
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 2, 2021
“And so I called the speaker of the House in Florida and I said, ‘Did you hear what they said?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘We definitely got to get this done,” he added.
DeSantis also noted his plans to stand against the NCAA and other “woke” organizations.
“You can’t be cowed by these organizations, or particularly by woke corporations from doing the right thing. And so my view was throughout this whole time, we have to protect our girls, it is discriminatory to force them to compete against biological males,” DeSantis said.
“And so if the price of having a tournament is that I have to deny equal opportunity to hundreds of thousands of young girl and women athletes throughout Florida, I am much more willing to stand with the girls. And to hell with these events.”
DeSantis signed a bill on Tuesday banning transgender athletes who identify as women from competing in women’s sports at the scholastic level.
“We believe in the state of Florida protecting the fairness and integrity of women’s athletics,” DeSantis said.
“I can tell you that in Florida, girls are going to play girls’ sports and boys are going to play boys’ sports.”
The Florida governor signaled his plans to support the controversial bill in May during a previous Fox News interview.
Moves like this keep DeSantis in step with the American public, 54 percent of whom oppose transgender participation in scholastic sports based on so-called gender identity, according to a Rasmussen poll released in March.
Not everyone is pleased with the governor’s response.
Florida Democratic state Rep. Carlos G. Smith tweeted on Tuesday, “Appalling. First day of LGBTQ Pride Month and @GovRonDeSantis signs SB 1028 which bans trans kids from school sports.”
Appalling. First day of LGBTQ Pride Month and @GovRonDeSantis signs SB 1028 which bans trans kids from school sports. FHSAA has allowed trans kids to participate in FL since 2013 with ZERO problems. This fuels transphobia and puts vulnerable kids at risk for no good reason.
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) June 1, 2021
The NCAA said in an April Board of Governors Statement on transgender participation, “When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected.
“We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants.”
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