Florida’s transgender overreach — this isn’t conservative | Opinion
Men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports, and women shouldn’t compete in men’s sports. It seems pretty straightforward. But it’s not.
At the heart of the question is fairness. Biologically speaking, a person born as a male has physical advantages over a female in strength, speed and endurance. In athletic competition, that matters. Women and girls deserve a level playing field.
As a conservative, I believe that transgender athletes should compete in sports that align with their biological sex assigned at birth. I don’t see it as discrimination. I see it as a commitment to competitive fairness and biology. But conservatives must remain clear-eyed about how those beliefs are upheld. They shouldn’t come at the risk of abandoning our principles or weaponizing the law.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened legal action against U.S. Masters Swimming, a Florida non-profit organization that offers swimming programs for adults, unless it rewrites its policies and starts barring transgender women from competing in female events or entering female locker rooms.
Uthmeier is requiring the organization to certify in writing that it will ensure biological men won’t be able to participate in any event with women. If the group doesn’t comply, he has made it clear that the state will take legal action.
But this is a private, non-profit organization — not a public school, or government entity. During his press conference, Uthmeier acknowledged that USMS is different and it’s “not a school system, but it’s still hurting women.”
In his letter to the organization, Uthmeier cites Trump’s executive order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” as justification to act. The executive order calls on state attorneys to “identify best practices in defining and enforcing equal opportunities for women to participate in sports...”
The number of transgender athletes is extremely small. During a Senate panel hearing last December, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified that there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes out of more than 500,000 college student athletes.
Uthmeier’s legal threats are broader, though. Aimed at a private organization responsible for its own internal polices, they amount to government overreach disguised as defending fairness.
True conservative governance means limited government intervention and promoting individual liberty, not micromanaging every aspect of civil society. When lawsuits are threatened by the state against private organizations for policies we disagree with, it’s an expansion of government power. And that should make conservatives uncomfortable.
However, supporters argue that government intervention is necessary to protect women when private organizations fail to act. This argument has merit — sometimes protecting individual rights requires government enforcement. However, there is a difference between protecting constitutional rights and using government overreach to police the policies of private organizations.
Republicans leaders shouldn’t pick and choose when they want to protect women. In sports, the GOP is vocal about fairness and keeping boys out of girls’ locker rooms. Yet, when it comes to protecting women facing health crises — such as pregnant women navigating confusing abortion laws — many of those same voices fall silent.
Just ask Republican Congresswoman Kat Cammack, who was recently forced to fight for life-saving care when she experienced an ectopic pregnancy. She was mired in legal uncertainty because of the very abortion restrictions Republicans supported.
How can we justify protecting women from unfair competition in swim meets but not from medical emergencies? Why is fairness demanded in athletics but we ignore real world risks pregnant women face when laws are ambiguous and doctors are afraid?
We can’t claim to stand for women when it’s politically convenient. If we value fairness and protection, that standard must be applied on the playing field, in the hospital and everywhere in between.
Conservatism demands more than selective moral outrage. It requires courage — courage to stick to our principles even when it’s politically inconvenient.
Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 6:13 AM.