Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared Emma Weyant the “rightful winner” in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 500-yard women’s freestyle swimming championship event after she placed second to trans athlete Lia Thomas last week.
DeSantis signed a proclamation on Tuesday, declaring silver medallist, Emma Weyant, the “rightful winner” in the event, saying Florida rejects the NCAA’s efforts to destroy women’s athletics by allowing men to rob “women and girls of achievements, awards, and scholarships.”
The Governor also accused the NCAA of “elevating ideology over biology,” saying Florida “takes offense at the NCAA’s trying to make others complicit in a lie.”
DeSantis shared the proclamation on social media, reiterating his concerns, that “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,” he said, “and recognize Sarasota’s Emma Weyant as the best women’s swimmer in the 500y freestyle.”
Weyant wasn’t the only victim of the NCAA’s decision.
Virginia Tech swimmer, Reka Gyorgy, publicly criticized the collegiate sports authority after she lost her place in the NCAA finals to Lia Thomas.
Gyorgy penned a letter to the NCAA arguing that it is ‘disrespectful’ to biological female swimmers to allow Thomas to compete against them.
“I swam the 500 free at NCAA’s on March 17th 2022 where I got 17th which means I didn’t make it back to the finals and was the first alternative. I’m a 5th-year senior, I have been top 16 and top 8 before and I know how much of a privilege it is to make finals at a meet this big,” Gyorgy said.
“This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete. I know you could say I had the opportunity to swim faster and make the top 16, but this situation makes it a bit difficult and I can’t help but be angry or sad.
“It hurts me, my team and other women in the pool. One spot was taken away from the girl who got 9th in the 500 free and didn’t make it back to the A final preventing her from being all American.
“Every event that transgender athletes compete in was one spot away from biological females throughout the meet.”
Independent journalist Savanah Hernandez spoke with another brave NCAA swimmer for Virginia Tech, who slammed the inclusion of biological males in female sports in a video that went viral across Twitter before the platform suspended Hernandez’s account.
“We are all very disappointed and frustrated with someone who has capabilities more than us women have to be able to compete at this level and take opportunities away from other women,” she said.
“I had a teammate who did not make finals today because she was just bumped out of finals. It’s heartbreaking to see somebody who went through puberty as a male and has the body of a male to be able to absolutely blow away the competition.
“You go into it with a mindset that you don’t have a chance. It’s hard to compete with the aerobic capacity, the muscle development of a man. Staying positive, I bet, for other swimmers who are in that heat is probably overwhelming.”
