Transgender NCAA athlete Lia Thomas, who had a dismal record when she still identified as a man but suddenly shot to the top of the leaderboard in the women’s division, received massive blowback after dominating a recent swimming event.
Many believed that Thomas’ dominance in a recent women’s 500-yard freestyle swimming event was unfair, which prompted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to take unprecedented action in recognizing the true winners of the important event, Fox News reported.
The Republican governor announced that he would recognize the runner-up in the event as the actual winner, given that Thomas had a massively unfair advantage as she’s actually a man competing against women.
“We’re going to be doing a proclamation saying that Emma [Weyant] is the best female swimmer” the governor said Tuesday. “She earned that and we need to stop allowing organizations like the NCAA to perpetuate frauds on the public.”
The proclamation
DeSantis held true to his promise, later issuing a signed proclamation that Weyant was the genuine winner of the event. The female swimming star had fallen behind Thomas by 1.75 seconds in the critical match but set a record for her fastest career time in the 500-yard freestyle.
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 and recognize Sarasota’s Emma Weyant as the best women’s swimmer in the 500y freestyle. pic.twitter.com/tBmFxFE3q6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 22, 2022
“If you look at what the NCAA has done in allowing basically men to compete in women’s athletics, and in this case swimming … you had the number one woman who finished was from Sarasota, Emma Weyent. She won the silver medal, she’s been an absolute superstar her whole career,” the governor added.
Weyant, a swimmer for the University of Virginia, also happens to be an Olympic medalist. Losing to a biological male swimming in the event has serious ramifications for her swimming career, which is partly what caused an uproar against Thomas robbing her of her future.
“Now the NCAA is basically taking efforts to destroy women’s athletics. They’re trying to undermine the integrity of the competition, crowning somebody else the women’s champion, and we think that’s wrong,” the governor continued.
Thomas slammed
After winning the match, a number of people reacted negatively to the news, including parents of former and current swimmers, along with members of Congress and past administration officials.
Round of applause for Emma Weyant, the UVA swimmer who placed second in the 500y freestyle tonight, behind Lia Thomas. Second is the new first. #savewomenssports pic.twitter.com/NtHookm3qQ
— Angela Morabito (@AngelaLMorabito) March 18, 2022
A number of social media users explained that while they have nothing against Thomas’ decision to transition to a female, they have serious issues with her competition against females, as her biological male anatomy gives her a massive advantage in every match.
