A recent craze on social media accusing Governor Ron DeSantis of requiring the menstrual history of high school athletes based on transgender athlete policy has been proven untrue by the AP.
The Florida High School Athletic Association is weighing a recommendation from an advisory committee, but it has not been approved and did not come from DeSantis’ office.
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The fears ran rampant on Twitter, with many users and left-wing activists amplifying the story as a chance to finally nail Florida’s Governor.
Many observers called it “creepy.”
Warning: Adult Language
Why the fuck does Ron DeSantis want female student athletes to submit menstrual information?!? Such a weird creep.
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) January 31, 2023
Ron DeSantis wants to study the menstrual cycles of student athletes. Who else thinks this is creepy af? 👋🏻
— Jeff Hudson (@ItsJeffHudson) February 4, 2023
Others tried to use it as a chance to call the Governor, and conservatives overall, hypocritical. Especially for the apparent breach of “small government” principles.
The state of Florida wants to know the menstrual cycles of young people in Florida? That’s an extreme invasion of privacy. But tell me more about “small government.”
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) February 4, 2023
Ron DeSantis’s Florida is mandating that female student athletes share their menstrual history
AT THE SAME TIME that he prohibits employers from mandating that employees share their vaccination status
When it comes to our vaginas, Republicans are all “YOUR body, MY choice”
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) February 3, 2023
Wow, DeSantis wants to require all high school girl athletes to report their monthly menstrual cycle to school authorities.
THIS is the party of individual liberty and small government???
The GOP wants the government to be so small it’s the size of a tampon. #DemVoice1
— ChaosPigeon – This machine irks fascists -✊🏼🌊♿️ (@ChaosPigeon1) February 3, 2023
The state of Florida wants to know the menstrual cycles of young people in Florida? That’s an extreme invasion of privacy. But tell me more about “small government.”
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) February 4, 2023
One even went so far as to call DeSantis Hitler and question whether or not his wife, Casey DeSantis, really had cancer.
I’ll make Ron DeSantis a deal. Hand over your wife’s “cancer”🙄 records and you can have my daughters menstrual deets. Deal Hitler?
— 🍾Papi Bébé Le Strange’ish🍾 (@Papi_B_Dubs) February 3, 2023
However, the outrage was misguided. A recent fact check by the AP got it right this time, revealing that DeSantis isn’t looking into menstrual cycles to bust transgender athletes.
While DeSantis has been an outspoken opponent of biological males in women’s sports, the mandate (which is still under review) is not for that purpose and did not even come from DeSantis’ office.
Florida already asks female high school athletes to provide information about their menstrual cycle on health forms required to participate in sports, but it is not mandatory. The questions, which The Florida High School Athletic Association officials say have been on the form for over twenty years. The questions include roughly when a student had their first menstrual period, when the most recent one was, the length that the interval between their periods typically lasts, how many they’ve had in the past year, and the most extended break between periods in the last year. The proposed revision would make answering these questions mandatory.
Ryan Harrison, the spokesman for the association, confirmed that the new recommendations were actually developed by its sports medicine advisory committee and approved in late January, not by DeSantis’ office. The association’s board of directors will weigh the advisement at its next meeting in late February. The association serves as the state’s official governing body for all matters relating to interscholastic sports.
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Harrison stressed to the AP the advisement is not in response to the issue of transgender athletes in high school sports.
“There is absolutely no support of the argument that their recommendation is aimed towards addressing an individual group of people.”
So why make them mandatory? Robert Sefcik, a sports medicine advisory committee member, said making the measure is consistent with national guidelines for sports physicals developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Sports Medicine. The reason? A form that has been thoroughly vetted is an “extremely credible resource” for doctors conducting sports physicals. In an email to the AP, Sefcik expanded on this idea.
“We appreciate the medical necessity of the questions, including menstrual history, that are included on this form and support their inclusion on the form.”
Sefnik elaborated on why such information would be medically relevant to female athletes, saying that it serves as a baseline to be compared to when investigating potential illnesses.
“Menstrual dysfunction is 2-3 times more common in athletes than nonathletes, and 10-15% of female athletes have amenorrhea (loss of menstrual cycle) or oligomenorrhea (a decrease in number of menstrual cycles per year). Amenorrhea occurs more frequently in players of sports that emphasize leanness, such as running, gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, and figure skating.”
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