Tampa Bay Rays' Taylor Walls sides with Fla. Gov Ron DeSantis on controversial transgender issue
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said he agreed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about his stance against allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s and girls’ sports competitions.
DeSantis posted a message to his verified Twitter account that criticized the NCAA for its decision to allow University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas to compete in women's swimming competitions. On March 17, Thomas made history by becoming the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming competition in Division I.
"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," DeSantis wrote. "In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota's Emma Weyant as the best women's swimmer in the 500y freestyle."
DeSantis also included a signed proclamation in the tweet. Weyant placed second in the 500-yard freestyle, the event Thomas won.
Walls, quote tweeting Gov. DeSantis, posted to his own account: "Couldn’t agree more."
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Rays manager Kevin Cash addressed the matter with Walls, 25, and also spoke about the matter in a press conference, saying it was important to have these conversations but that "Twitter is not the best forum" for them.
"In my opinion, I don’t think I did anything wrong," Walls told the Tampa Bay Times after he played in preseason game Wednesday. "I think I just gave my opinion. Some people may have taken that out of context. And I’m very sorry to them. I respect them. I don’t mean any disrespect to anybody at all."
In February, USA Swimming adopted tougher restrictions for transgender competitors, lowering its testosterone threshold by half and subjecting them to an eligibility panel.
The NCAA, which usually operates in lockstep with the national governing body, did not follow suit for this season because it did not want to implement a rule change late in the season that would have expressly kept Thomas out. The urgency of adopting a firmer policy, though, will only intensify for the NCAA – not just with Thomas' success, but a series of state legislatures attempting to pass laws that regulate transgender participation in sports.
"Everybody’s opinion should be valued or heard," Walls said. "The same way that I do my best to understand everyone’s perspective, even if I don’t agree with it, I think that should be reciprocated to everyone. ...
"I feel like it’s a two-way street. I feel like I respect others. I don’t do anything out of disrespect or harming anyone else. It’s just my opinion. And feel free to disagree, there’s no harm done. I don’t have any hard feelings towards anyone else. And that’s kind of it."
The issue about the participation of openly transgender athletes in women's sports has sparked a passionate debate across the country, with several states having already adopted legislation to impose tougher restrictions and others planning to do so.
"Usually, I try to keep politics away from everything," Walls told the Times. "Other people’s views are other people’s views. I respect that 100%. The same way I feel that mine should be respected, too. So, no, I’m not a big political-rant guy, I’m not trying to spark many conversations.
"Honestly, it’s just something to where I was kind of voicing my opinion out loud. It was just more of an impulsive thing to where I saw something, (and) I agreed with it."
Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, however, have spoken out on the issue, saying that excluding openly transgender athletes has negative impacts such as "higher rates of abuse, harassment, and ultimately suicides of trans children." Studies have also shown that gender-affirming care saves lives.
Contributing: Dan Wolken