Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that bans transgender girls and women from playing on girls' public-school teams, WESH.com reported.
"[Florida sports provide] our young girls with opportunities that last a lifetime," DeSantis said. "We believe the integrity of those competitions are preserved, that these opportunities are protected."
Under the measure sent to the governor, a transgender student-athlete would have to affirm her biological sex by supplying proof such as a birth certificate.
Nikki Fried—Florida's commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, who is running for governor—said of the new law, "By signing a heartless ban on transgender kids in sports, Gov. DeSantis is marginalizing an entire community."
In a statement sent to Windy City Times, Scott McCoy—the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund interim deputy legal director, LGBTQ Rights & Special Litigation—said, "The 'Fairness in Women's Sports Act' signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is entirely unfair to transgender and cisgender women and girls, as it disregards the needs of thousands of student athletes DeSantis was elected to protect.
"Reputable athletic organizations, such as the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee, allow transgender women to compete. Like all the states that passed similar legislation to deny the existence of trans athletes, Florida attempts to address a problem that does not and has never existed."
