Thursday, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) discussed legislation that bans transgender female athletes from participating in women’s school sports during an appearance on FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
“It is true that your girls will have a level playing field,” she said. “They will get the chance to compete only against other biological females, as reflected on their birth certificate, because we want them to have a chance to be successful.”
“We recognize there are a lot of different competitions, such as academic, debate, speech, that your biological sex isn’t that much of a factor, but it is when it comes to sports,” Noem added. “And here in South Dakota in our K-12 system and at our college level, we are going to ensure that those girls have a chance to compete.”
Noem dismissed the notion that the law would create legal liabilities for the schools in her state.
“It is, and what it does is it allows the girls that didn’t make the team because a biological male made the team, it allows them the chance to go after litigation for the opportunity to play,” she said. “It doesn’t create a trial lawyer’s dream and create a lot of new, litigious opportunities. What it does is it say, I want an opportunity to play, and it gives them a chance to challenge that school district to be a part of that team.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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