On June 1, Tucker Carlson interviewed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about a bill he had just signed that bans males from competing in female school sports. DeSantis said everything that should be said in defense of protecting women’s sports but what other governors have been afraid to say.
CARLSON: We’ve seen bills like this in a bunch of different states come before Republican governors who don’t sign them because they came under corporate pressure not to sign them. How much corporate pressure did you come under not to sign this bill?
DESANTIS: Well, it was interesting, Tucker, I think as these bills were going through various legislators, I remember the NCAA put out a statement saying that 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? He’s like, yes, I said, we definitely have got to get this done yet can’t be cowed by these organizations or particularly by woke corporations from doing the right thing.
Watch Gov. DeSantis’ excellent defense of women’s sports in this video:
.@GovRonDeSantis Joins Tucker Carlson To Discuss Signing A Bill Today Banning Men From Competing In Women's Sports
"You can't be cowed by these organizations, particularly by woke corporations, from doing the right thing."
"We have to protect our girls." pic.twitter.com/d2bq1bE5Py
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) June 2, 2021
Related: Women’s Sports: We Are Women Here Saying ‘No.’ Why Is That Not Enough?
Contrast that to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem who caved to pressure from the NCAA and vetoed her state’s Save Women’s Sports bill. Here is an excerpt from her letter justifying her veto:
I am also concerned that the approach House Bill 1217 takes is unrealistic in the context of collegiate athletics. In South Dakota, we are proud of our universities’ athletic programs, and in particular the great strides we have taken to gain national exposure and increase opportunities for our next generation over the past two decades.
South Dakota has shown that our student athletes can compete with anyone in the country, but competing on the national stage means compliance with the national governing bodies that oversee collegiate athletics. While I certainly do not always agree with the actions these sanctioning bodies take, I understand that collegiate athletics requires such a system – a fifty-state patchwork is not workable.
Gov. DeSantis proved that it is workable to protect women’s sports. More states need to push back against the NCAA and those who would force women to compete against men in their own sports. All the legislatures and governors need to join Florida’s and tell the NCAA to pound sand.
