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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been accused of many things, including the claim that he was a grandma killer during the Wuhan virus pandemic because he ultimately decided to go in a different direction than the federal government on “slowing the spread.” He also, of course, has often been accused of “racism” because he opposes wokeism in any form including its implementation in public school lesson plans and state-funded higher ed institutions.

But the latest anti-DeSantis talking point was so egregious that even the Associated Press stepped in to defend him and his administration, although the way they went about it initially (and likely intentionally) caused more confusion and outrage from The Usual Suspects.

The headline read as follows: “Florida weighs mandating menstrual cycle details for female athletes” – but what was left out of it was a prominent notation alerting readers that this was a “fact check.” Because a lot of people on social media are lazy and don’t read beyond headlines, it caused even more knee-jerk leftists to do what they do best, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Exhibits A, B, and C:

And in a since-deleted tweet, former Trump surgeon general Jerome Adams wrote, “Government should stay out of personal and familial health decisions… but under penalty of law, you must have your daughter track and report her periods? What am I missing? Seriously?”

A whole lot, as the Associated Press explained:

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The Florida High School Athletic Association is weighing the recommendation from an advisory committee, but no final decision has been made. DeSantis’ education commissioner is a member of the association’s board of directors and the commissioner also appoints three others, but the association is a private nonprofit organization, not a state agency under the purview of the governor’s office.

Further, they noted that questions about female athletes’ menstrual cycles and history have been on the Florida High School Athletic Association’s form going back “for at least two decades” according to officials on the association and that the questions are – for now – optional.

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As for the idea that they should be mandatory, the AP provided this explainer:

Robert Sefcik, a member of the sports medicine advisory committee, said making the menstrual cycle questions mandatory rather than optional is consistent with national guidelines for sports physicals developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Sports Medicine and other groups.

Not mentioned in the Associated Press fact check was the fact that over 40 states here in the U.S. either “require or request” such information from female athletes – including blue states that are woke on the issue of “trans inclusion,” per an analysis from OutSports.

The medical reason for this information, according to American Academy of Pediatrics representative Dr. Rebecca Carl as quoted by OutSports, was related to potential injury issues for the female athletes:

“Female athletes/athletes with uteri who are not having menstrual periods are at increased risk of stress fractures,” Carl said.

There’s also a potential positive performance component as well:

Beyond high schools, the US Women’s National Team in soccer is reportedly required to share menstrual information with the team, as some believe managing that information in regards to practices and physical requirements can optimize athletic production. Good Morning America reported that the practice helped the team win the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

So to sum up, not only is the proposal to mandate such questions about a female athlete’s menstrual cycle in Florida not coming from Ron DeSantis, but nearly every state in this country already asks similar questions on official forms for medical reasons, including states that have no problems whatsoever with men who identify as women joining women’s sports teams.

Next “issue,” please?

Related: A Virtue Signaling Ron DeSantis Critic Gets Her Just Deserts After Embarrassing Video Surfaces

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