SD Governor Kristi Noem Backtracks on Transgender Sports Ban, Changes it to Make College Level Exceptions and Show ‘Empathy’ for Transgender Youth

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) is backtracking on a bill to ban transgender youth from playing sports with the opposite sex that they were born as. It appears as though she has been under pressure, and now plans to make an exception for sports on the collegiate level.

Noem also wants to add wording in the bill that shows “empathy” towards transgender youth. She posted a long thread on Twitter with a link to the edits she is requesting to the bill, and it’s hard to see exactly what’s going on without doing some digging. Joe Sneve put it in layman’s terms:

“Here’s the #TLDR version: Gov. Noem doesn’t want the ban on transgender athletes competing against members of the opposite sex to extend to the collegiate level.”

We posted a tweet breaking the news that people were speculating would happen in some form earlier today as well:

“Just in: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wants to make sure “empathy” is shown towards transgender youth, sends back bill banning transgender women from playing in women’s sports to exclude the ban from the collegiate level.”

https://t.co/oVbUF8CW9A

— Media Right News (@MediaRightNews1) March 19, 2021

See Governor Noem’s tweet on Twitter to see the full thread:

I believe that boys should play boys’ sports, and girls should play girls’ sports. I’m returning House Bill 1217 with the following recommendations as to STYLE and FORM. (1/)

— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) March 19, 2021

This seems to be a softening of policy position based on possible left-wing and corporate pressure. Many in the America First wing of the right had tried to talk up Noem as one of the Trump-style politicians who would carry on the former president’s legacy. We previously reported that Noem quietly turned down former President Trump’s offer that would have allowed states to turn away refugees. Noem accepted them gladly during the Trump administration despite having the legal ability not to do so.

Many could make the argument that this is how red states turn blue, not to mention the potential disruption of American culture and values. It’s great for Republicans who value their freedoms that Noem didn’t have the same tough Covid-19 mask mandates as other states, but just because she got fame and attention from that, doesn’t mean she’s a successor to Trump and his America First legacy.

Earlier, we shared a Daily Caller article on our Twitter feed, detailing how Noem was having second thoughts on the bill. They reported in part:

The bill was sent to Noem’s desk on March 10, but the governor has since suggested that she may not sign it.

Noem’s office did not directly address why she is wavering in her support for the bill, but confirmed that the governor has not made up her mind on whether she will sign it.

“Governor Noem is still weighing 106 pieces of legislation that have action due next Friday, and that is one of them,” Noem’s communications director Ian Fury told the DCNF Friday morning.

“We’re still looking at it, and I probably, in the next two to three days, will come to a decision,” Noem said in a Thursday interview with the Argus Leader. “It’s a complicated bill, even in that there are parts of it that aren’t written so well.”

It seems she will cave, bob, and weave on the real issues that matter when the rubber hits the road in our view. This isn’t to say that using the word empathy is a bad thing per se, but the fact that it needed to be added at the last minute, along with the collegiate level exception, shows she caved to some kind of pressure and is not serious about being a strong future player in the game of keeping America’s traditions alive.