MIAMI - Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis emphasized that men do not belong in women's sports while celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Wednesday.
"Men don’t belong in women’s sports. We made it clear in Florida, and we need to make it law in America," Patronis said. "Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day!"
The statement comes just before President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order Wednesday afternoon banning biological men from competing in women's sports, or the "No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order."
Patronis notably will be CFO until March 31, as he's the Republican nominee in Florida's 1st congressional district special election. He was endorsed by Trump for the seat in January, which was vacated by Matt Gaetz.
Trump's executive order contrasts the Biden administration's interpretation of Title IX, which they argued protected transgender individuals based on sex. Biden's ruling was later tossed out by a federal judge from Kentucky in January.
Florida also banned biological men from participating in women's sports under the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act" in 2021.
The law states that "an athletic team or sport that is designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex, based on the student’s biological sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate at the time of birth."
“As a father of two daughters, I want my girls, and every girl in Florida, to compete on an even playing field for the opportunities available to young women in sports,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at its signing. “Women have fought for decades to have equal opportunities in athletics, and we have to prevent those opportunities from being eroded as is happening in other states. It’s common sense."
Trump had pledged to keep men out of women's sports in the lead-up to the November elections.
The topic also gained traction from former University of Kentucky swimmer and activist Riley Gaines, who criticized the concept after the success of University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Thomas, formerly known as William Thomas, broke several Ivy League conference records as a transgender collegiate swimmer. Thomas also won an NCAA Division 1 national championship in the 500-yard freestyle in 2022, becoming the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 championship title.
Recently, three former women's teammates of Thomas sued the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, the NCAA, and the Ivy League Council of Presidents for allegedly violating their Title IX rights.
