Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is calling on U.S. Masters Swimming to ban men from competing in women's swimming competitions, or face possible legal action.
"U.S. Women's Swimming Masters Swimming has been known, their pretty prominent for allowing men to compete in women's events. Many of their largest competitions, in recent past, have resulted in the victors being men competing in women's sports," Uthmeier said at a news conference in Orlando.
U.S Masters Swimming, a Florida-based nonprofit, is a national membership organization that provides benefits to nearly 60,000 Masters swimmers. In his statement, Uthmeier specifically said the organization must "unequivocally" certify that it will not allow men to compete against women.
“We will hold you accountable if you are going to endanger our women and girls. So we hope they will do the right thing and quickly certify in writing that they are going to ensure that no men are able to participate in any event with women, and if they don’t do so, then we will pursue additional legal action,” Uthmeier continued.
According to the attorney general, U.S. Masters Swimming issued a temporary policy protecting women's sports; however, "it does not get the job done."
Moreover, Uthmeier claimed the organization has some events reserved for women, but has loopholes where someone who transitioned could become eligible to compete in any of the competitions.
"This is not acceptable. It does not fly with Florida law. We will use every tool at our disposal, from our state civil rights law to our anti-discrimination laws to our consumer protection laws to ensure we our protecting women and girls," Uthmeier said.
Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios "Stasi" Kamoutsas was also present at the news conference. A former DeSantis aide, Kamoutsas, was confirmed to his new role earlier this month.
