South Dakota’s girls deserve an equal opportunity to compete and achieve, to experience the thrill of victory and learn the lessons of defeat. Governor Noem competed in a wide variety of athletic activities when she was young, and her daughters had the same opportunity. Governor Noem wants her granddaughter and any future grandchildren to have the same opportunities.

Unfortunately, there is a liberal agenda across the country trying to allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports. Science and common sense tell us that males have an unfair advantage in many ways in athletic competition. Boys tend to be bigger, faster, and stronger than girls. So to allow boys to compete in girls’ sports destroys basic fairness in these athletic competitions.

Governor Noem has been a national leader on this issue for years. When she was serving in Congress, the US Department of Agriculture attempted to force boys and girls to compete together in 4-H Rodeo. Governor Noem was the only leader to stand against them in support of girls events, and she won.

In 2021, the South Dakota state legislature killed a flawed bill to protect girls’ sports. Governor Noem asked them to fix it, and they didn’t. The same day that legislators killed that bill, Governor Noem signed two executive orders: one that protected girls’ sports at the K-12 level, the other at the collegiate level. These orders remained in effect until the Governor could work with the legislature to pass the right bill to protect girls’ sports.

This year, Governor Noem wrote, proposed, passed, and signed the toughest bill in the nation to protect girls’ sports. This bill will not be overturned in court and protects our girls. It was the first bill that Governor Noem signed in the 2022 legislative session.

Now, the Biden Administration is threatening our kids’ school lunch dollars to try to force states to allow boys to play in girls’ sports. Governor Noem is standing up against this. She led a coalition of governors who promised that if Biden takes this action, we will take action to defend our kids.