Each year, student athletes across the country must be cleared to participate in sports by getting their annual physical from a doctor.
However, many school districts in Florida have sparked outrage following a change to their yearly routine.
Historically, annual physicals were recorded on a paper form with an optional section that asks students about their periods. Now, however, Florida Times-Union reported Florida's student athletes will be required to fill out the form online.
This means that information about the students previously kept secure at a school level is now reported digitally through a third party.
\u201cFlorida female student athletes have to report their menstrual history\u00a0to play: When they got their first period, when they had their last one, etc. A\u00a0third party has access to that info, and parents and doctors are raising red flags https://t.co/172JNDanBL @katikokal\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
In the days following the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade, people were urged to stop using period-tracking apps and to delete related reproductive health information from third party platforms in fear data collected through the trackers could be used against them in states where abortion is illegal.
In Florida, both parents and doctors are concerned and wonder why the information is being collected in the first place.
Information gathered on the form includes age of first menstruation, date of most recent period, timing of menstrual cycle, number of periods in the past year and the longest amount of time between periods in the last year.
This data will now be stored on a digital platform operated by Aktivate, a third-party software company founded by former News Corp. executive John Miller. The company was founded just last year.
As Twitter users caught wind of the situation, they shared their support for the athletes as well as disgust with the new requirements.
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal Meaning old men and their enablers can decide which 16 year olds to target https://t.co/ChcwVTlaaC\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal Dear Florida, \n\nThis is not normal.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal Remember when they did this to the migrant girls, and it sort of made a blip on the news, but then everybody forgot about it, but certain people warned the public that it was only a matter of time before they did the US citizens... Yeah? Good times. "Told you so."\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal this is such a gross invasion of privacy.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal Here's the thing about female athletes. If fat too muscle mass is too low, there is no menstruation. Many gymnasts don't have periods for years. What will they be accused of? Stay out of women's bodies.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal Not all girls menstruate on a schedule. That\u2019s not taking into consideration that some female athletes don\u2019t menstruate. Factor in birth control, you know not for birth control but for other medical purposes,which can cause yrs of missed periods.\nWill those girls be investigated?\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@AimingHigher11 @jaxdotcom @katikokal But the whole issue is that it\u2019s got nothing to do with anyone else. Her period is her business. She wants to throw a ball and enjoy a social activity for goodness sake! I can\u2019t believe this is even being discussed!\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@FsuFire @jaxdotcom @katikokal Unnecessary to ask this in the first place. This is not relevant to sports.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @joncoopertweets @katikokal No daughter of mine would be playing any sport if this is required \n\nThen again, there\u2019s no a snowball\u2019s chance in hell that I\u2019d live in Florida at this point\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal NO! This is nobody\u2019s business! Surely this will be challenged in court.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal There is zero reason for this violation of privacy.\nMy daughter played volleyball in HS all over FL.\n\nThere\u2019s something VERY unsettling about this menstrual cycle info being gathered by anyone.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal This is abominable. In addition to the egregious invasion of one's privacy, anyone who knows anything about female athletes, including young ones, knows they're susceptible to female triad issues: osteoporosis, low energy availability and amenorrhea (the ABSENCE OF MENSTRUATION).\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
\u201c@jaxdotcom @katikokal I would have quit sports if I had to play under these conditions. This is not ok. Our girls are allowed their privacy. This is oppressive.\u201d— Florida Times-Union (@Florida Times-Union) 1664883840
Previously all the school was required to have on file following a student's physical examination was the signature page on which the doctor signed to clear the student athlete. Now the full form will be on file for seven years, the retention period for such documents.
One doctor told the FloridaTimes-Union:
"I think we're all on edge right now."
He, along with many other doctors and parents, fear the student information will not be kept private.
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