Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

DeSantis Ripped After Declaring Florida Native 'Rightful Winner' In Race She Lost To Trans Swimmer

DeSantis Ripped After Declaring Florida Native 'Rightful Winner' In Race She Lost To Trans Swimmer
Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Michael Reaves/Getty Images

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas made history last week when she won the NCAA 500-yard women's freestyle swimming championship event, besting native Floridian Emma Weyant of the University of Virginia.

But Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis—one of the most rabidly anti-LGBTQ politicians in the country—issued a statewide decree declaring Weyant as the "rightful winner" because Thomas is trans.


The cartoonishly childish and transphobic move—which amounts to little more than a temper tantrum affixed with the state seal because DeSantis has no power over the NCAA—has drawn widespread criticism.

See DeSantis' announcement below.

DeSantis tweeted:

"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."

The decree he issued on behalf of the state of Florida read in part:

"Florida rejects the NCAA's efforts to destroy women's athletics, disapproves of the NCAA elevating ideology over biology, and takes offense at the NCAA trying to make others complicit in a lie..."
"...[S]ince she is a native Floridian from Sarasota, I, Ron DeSantis, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby declare in Florida that Emma Weyant is the rightful winner of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's 500-yard Freestyle."

Thomas' win—the first trans athlete in any sport to win a NCAA Division I event—reignited an ongoing debate about whether transgender girls and women should be allowed to compete in sporting events based on their gender identity.

Oddly, the conservative backlash against transgender people once again ignores the existence of trans men and nonbinary people while targeting trans girls and women. Trans women, especially women of color, face the highest rates of transphobic violence and murder.

Science on the issue is as yet inconclusive due to a dearth of solid studies on the matter. But the data gathered so far shows trans women's physiological advantage over cisgender women dramatically declines and for some athletic pursuits disappears entirely after just two years of hormone therapy.

Nevertheless, Republican politicians across the country have launched an all-out assault on transgender female athletes, with several states passing laws banning them from sports teams that align with their gender identity. This includes DeSantis, who signed such a law last January.

On Twitter, DeSantis' tantrum left many people disgusted and mystified over his hubris.








DeSantis' absurd proclamation also comes as Florida's Republican sponsored so-called "Don't Say Gay bill"—which makes discussion of sexuality and gender in elementary schools illegal—awaits DeSantis' signature.

He has vowed to sign it into law.

More from Trending

Alex Cooper singing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame'
@MBDChicago/Twitter (X)

'Call Her Daddy' Host Alex Cooper Gets Brutally Booed At Wrigley Field After Painfully Off-Key Singing

If there's one thing that all baseball fans can come together about, it's the importance of their traditions—and songs.

In the seventh inning at Wrigley Field during a match between the Cubs and the Cardinals, popular Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper was invited to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and brought two backup dancers with her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Linda Yaccarino
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

X CEO Resigns Day After AI Chatbot Grok Praised Hitler In Alarming Series Of Antisemitic Tweets

Linda Yaccarino—the former NBC Universal executive who later took the reins at X—stepped down as CEO of billionaire Elon Musk's platform after two years on the job just a day after Grok, the platform's AI chatbot, went on antisemitic rants and openly praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok issued deeply antisemitic responses on Tuesday following a reported software update that encouraged the bot to embrace what developers described as the “politically incorrect.” Taking that directive to heart, Grok responded with a series of disturbing posts that included praise for Hitler and even a statement expressing its aspiration to become a “digital version” of the Nazi leader.

Keep ReadingShow less
Black and white photo of a falling spider.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

People Divulge Their 'Rare' Phobias That People Refuse To Believe

I am a SEVERE claustrophobic.

I have struggled with this issue for decades.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

'The Onion' Rips Ted Cruz With Brutal Headline After Yet Another Vacation During Texas Disaster

The satirical news site The Onion had social media users cackling with its brutal headline mocking Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz for once again being out of the country when Texas was hit by another deadly natural disaster.

Cruz faced considerable national backlash after he flew to Cancún while millions of people went without food and water as a result of the February 2021 Texas power disaster. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly; some estimates suggested as many as 702 people were killed as a result of the crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk and Grimes
Kevin Tachman/Getty Images for Vogue

Elon Musk's Ex Grimes Calls X Platform A 'Poison' And 'Theatre' After Social Media Hiatus

Claire Boucher—who performs and creates under her stage name Grimes, but prefers her birth name or just "C" offstage—recently returned to her musical persona's social media accounts after taking a hiatus for her own well-being.

Once extremely active, she noted on X in April:

Keep ReadingShow less