Penn had to apologize to its own female swimmers for letting Lia Thomas destroy them.
Now two Irish dance organizations thought they could bring that same policy to Orlando and Florida would look the other way.
But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier just gave them until Monday to think again.
The June 30 Deadline No One Saw Coming
The North American Irish Dance Championships open the week of July 4 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando.
Both governing bodies – An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha and the Irish Dance Teachers' Association of North America – have written policies allowing competitors to enter divisions based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
Uthmeier sent them a letter June 26 that didn't leave room for interpretation.
"Florida law protects fair competition for actual women and girls," he wrote. "Sex-based categories are rooted in biological reality, not ideology. My office will take appropriate legal action against any failure to comply."
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2071583457935831179?s=20
This wasn't the first warning.
U.S. Reps. Randy Fine and Greg Steube – both Florida Republicans – had already sent the organizations a letter urging compliance before Uthmeier escalated.
The dance groups apparently decided two congressmen weren't enough to worry about.
So Florida's top law enforcement officer made it three.
Uthmeier's Consumer Fraud Hook Changes Everything
This isn't just a civil rights complaint.
Uthmeier cited two specific Florida statutes – and the second one is the one that should terrify these organizations.
The first is Florida's prohibition on sex discrimination in places of public accommodation, which Uthmeier argued covers the championships.
The second is the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
His argument: advertising a women's competition while allowing biological males to compete is consumer fraud.
That means the attorney general isn't just threatening a discrimination lawsuit.
He's threatening to treat ticket sales, registration fees, and competition entry as a deceptive trade practice – a hook that applies regardless of what federal courts eventually decide about transgender sports bans more broadly.
The timing adds weight to it.
The Supreme Court heard arguments in January 2026 in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. – two landmark cases on whether states can ban transgender athletes from women's sports.
After more than three hours of arguments, court watchers emerged with a clear consensus: the conservative majority looked ready to uphold the bans.
A ruling is expected any day.
Florida isn't waiting for it.
Penn Had to Apologize. These Groups Have Until Monday.
The University of Pennsylvania spent years insisting it was on the right side of history letting Lia Thomas compete.
In July 2025, Penn's own president signed a letter apologizing to the female swimmers Thomas had beaten – competitors who alleged they finished lower than they should have, whose records were erased, whose locker room privacy was stripped away.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2071632311838273647?s=20
The Trump Education Department found Penn had violated Title IX and the university complied.
That's what compliance eventually looks like when you ignore the warnings long enough.
These Irish dance organizations now have a cleaner choice than Penn did.
They have until Monday.
The argument that their policies were fine everywhere else doesn't apply in Florida.
The argument that gender identity policies are mainstream doesn't apply in Florida.
The argument that nobody would actually sue over an Irish dance competition is the most dangerous assumption of all.
If the jigs start July 4th with biological males in the women's division, expect Uthmeier to make good on his promise before the week is out.
Sources:
- Kennedy Owens, "After Fine, Steube letter, Florida AG threatens legal action over Irish dance groups' transgender policy," Florida Voice News, June 29, 2026.
- Amy Howe, "Supreme Court appears likely to uphold transgender athlete bans," SCOTUSblog, January 13, 2026.
- ESPN Staff, "Penn to ban trans women from women's sports, ends case focused on Lia Thomas," ESPN, July 1, 2025.
