A group that exists to defend the rights of many conservatives hit South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for vetoing the bill meant to protect women and women's sports, reports say.
Alliance Defending Freedom--a 1994-established organization providing legal services to protect free speech, parental rights, and religious freedom--reportedly slammed renowned conservative Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for rejecting the Fairness In Women's Sports Bill, otherwise known as South Dakota House Bill 1217 over "style and form." after announcing early this month that she will sign it.
The bill promotes continued "fairness in women's sports" by, as per The Blaze, prohibiting biological males to join females sports, to play on females' sports, or to compete against females in school.
The ADF said that the governor has caved in to the "'woke' corporate ideology" and has left her supporters feeling betrayed for vetoing the bill and sending it back to the senate with recommendations for changes based on "style and form" due to her "special interests".
"Gov. Noem had an opportunity to protect women and girls by signing the Fairness in Women's Sports bill, but instead she pandered to the demands of special interests. In what was an abuse of her 'style and form' veto power, she gutted protections for collegiate athletes and took away legal recourse for girls forced to compete against biological boys," ADF General Counsel Kristen Waggoner said in a statement in their website.
"We are shocked that a governor who claims to be a firebrand conservative with a rising national profile would cave to 'woke' corporate ideology," she stressed.
The statement dated March 22 clarified that Waggoner's remarks come after Noem explained her decision to veto the bill and revealed her plans on it.
FaithWire reported that Noem had a press conference on Monday to explain her side on the issue after sending a letter to the senate to explain the necessary changes needed in the bill and why it is needed.
"The proposed revisions limit House Bill 1217 to elementary and secondary school athletics, which are primarily conducted among South Dakota schools and, at the high school level, are governed by the South Dakota High School Activities Association, a creature of South Dakota law. The proposed revisions will also remedy the vague language regarding civil liability and the use of performance-enhancing drugs," Noem said in her letter posted in the South Dakota State News website.
During the video conference, Noem emphasized the great influence the National Collegiate Athletic Association had on local sports and the grave consequences the bill may have on the fight to protect women's sports out if passed without making proper precautions for it at this point in time. She highlighted that the " South Dakota's chances of winning a lawsuit against the NCAA are very low" since it is a "private corporation" that "can do what they want to do."
"Even though I fundamentally disagree with them, when it comes to this issue, if South Dakota passes a law that's against their policy, they will likely take punitive action against us. That means they could pull their tournaments from the state of South Dakota, they can pull their home games, they can even prevent our athletes from playing in their league. That's their prerogative. So a fight that doesn't truly protect women's sports and doesn't allow women to compete, ultimately, is going to hurt South Dakota families," FaithWire quoted Noem in saying during the video conference.
FaithWire added that the governor planned to create a coalition among states "big enough where the NCAA cannot possibly" punish those who would like to "guarantee fairness at the collegiate level" who pledges to uphold Title IX's protection. The coalition pledge belief that "only girls should play girls' sports," that the federal government enforce Title IX for the protection of women's sports, and that sanctioning bodies such as the NCAA should not take any "adverse action against any state or school" in line to protect women's sports.
The ADF retorted that the governor's press conference was merely done "to control the damage to her credibility" much like what other politicians do "for political theater and to create distractions."
"Our hope is that Gov. Noem will reverse course and make this right by signing the bill passed overwhelmingly by the South Dakota Legislature," Waggoner raised. "Anything less-including an 'initiative' promoted by a few athletes at a press conference-will be more empty words."
Meanwhile, FaithWire cited netizens who reacted to the issue and on Noem's press conference such as Independent Women's Forum Senior Policy Analyst Kelsey Bolar who took to Twitter to express her disappointment on the governor. She stated that the "only way" for governor "to do damage control here" is to "sign the bill."
