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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation on Tuesday recognizing Emma Weyant as the winner in an NCAA women’s 500-yard freestyle swimming event over transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
“She earned that and we need to stop allowing organizations like the NCAA to perpetuate fraud on the public,” DeSantis said during the event.
The Republican governor recalled that last year he signed a bill to ensure equity in women’s athletics. He stressed that he made the decision because he felt it was very important that young girls and women athletes in the state of Florida have the ability to work hard to achieve their dreams and compete fairly, whether it’s in swimming or track and field.
“And that’s something that was very meaningful to a lot of people in Florida, particular people like me that are parents of young girls,” he commented.
Emma Weyant’s work
DeSantis noted that Weyant has been an absolute superstar her entire career and said she has achieved her success because she trains hard to achieve it and that “that takes grit, that takes determination.”
“Now, the NCAA is basically taking efforts to destroy women’s athletics. They’re trying to undermine the integrity of the competition and they’re crowning somebody else the women’s champion, and we think that’s wrong. And she’s a Floridian who I think deserves to be recognized,” DeSantis insisted.
