Permitting such participation amounts to sex-based discrimination and is unacceptable under Florida law, he said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, in a July 15 letter to the CEO of U.S. Masters Swimming, called for an immediate end to male athletes participating in female swimming competitions conducted by that organization.
“Your policy must be corrected immediately to guarantee—unequivocally—that you will abide by Florida law and keep male athletes out of female competitions and locker rooms,” he wrote.
“Please certify to me in writing by July 29, 2025, that USMS ensures, via necessary policy and procedural changes, that no men will any longer be permitted to compete against women in women’s category events. Should USMS refuse, my office will take all necessary action to protect Florida women and vindicate their rights under Florida law.”
USMS is a nonprofit swimming organization that, together with its 52 Local Masters Swimming Committees, offers support to over 1,200 swimming clubs. Headquartered in Florida, the organization has nearly 70,000 members nationwide.
On July 1, a new interim eligibility policy went into effect at USMS under which men identifying as women were deemed “ineligible for competitive recognition programs in the women’s category” at USMS-sanctioned events, according to the organization’s FAQ on the issue.
However, USMS clarified that people can continue to swim in competition categories aligning with their “gender identity.”
As such, men can compete in female swimming events, but will not qualify for official recognition programs such as USMS records, Top 10, and All-American and All-Star status in women’s categories.
In the July 15 letter, Uthmeier said that allowing males to compete in women’s competitions is “sex-based discrimination,” and that such a move “deprives women of the equal enjoyment, privileges, and advantages that fair competition affords.”
USMS’s interim eligibility policy is “unacceptable under Florida law,” Uthmeier wrote.
In Florida, sex is defined as indicated by a person’s sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and genitalia present at birth, the letter said, adding that state courts have refused to extend the definition of sex to include “gender identity and/or expression.”
And if the biological men, allowed to take part in female competitions as per USMS rule, use women’s locker rooms at USMS events, it opens the organization to “liability for sexual harassment,” Uthmeier warned.
Allowing male participation in female sports also creates conditions that are “immoral and detrimental to public interest,” amounting to public nuisance under Florida law, Uthmeier said.
The AG affirmed he will enforce President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 presidential action titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
The Epoch Times reached out to USMS for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.
