Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he refused to be pressured by “woke corporations” or other organizations and not sign a bill banning biological males from participating in women’s sports.
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“I think as these bills were going through various legislatures, I remember the [National Collegiate Athletic Association] put out a statement saying any state that enacts this, we’re not going to hold events there 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’ and I said, ‘We’ve definitely got to get this done,'” DeSantis told Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
“You can’t be cowed by these organizations, particularly by woke corporations, from doing the right thing and so my view was throughout this whole time, we have to protect our girls,” he told host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson. (RELATED: Here Are The States That Want To Ban Biological Males From Women’s Sports)
The governor called it “discriminatory” to expect women to compete with biological males, which he claimed would “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,” the governor said, adding that “woke corporations” can try “to bully” the state but “they’re going to go nowhere. It’s going to be like hitting their head against a brick wall.”
The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act bans biological males from joining athletic teams or playing in sports designated female and demands that a student’s school “request a certain health examination and consent form or other statement from the student’s health care provider to verify the student’s biological sex under certain circumstances.” (RELATED: Kristi Noem Wavers On Bill Banning Biological Males From Women’s Sports)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference about the opening of a COVID-19 vaccination site at the Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 06, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
One opponent of the Florida law was particularly incensed that the bill was signed on the first day of “Pride Month.”
“By signing a heartless ban on transgender kids in sports, @GovRonDeSantis is marginalizing an entire community. Signing it on the first day of #Pride2021 is especially cruel,” tweeted Florida Commissioner of Agriculture & Consumer Services Nikki Fried. “Florida should stand for inclusivity, equality, and liberty — not peddling hate for political points.”