网红爆料 of South Dakota: Fairness in Women鈥檚 Sports Won鈥檛 Be Achieved with New Coalition or House Bill 1217

March 22, 2021 11:30 am

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Gov. Kristi Noem鈥檚 new coalition to defend Title IX and ban transgender women and girls from competing on teams that match their gender identity does little to ensure fairness in women鈥檚 sports.

In fact, Noem鈥檚 coalition, like House Bill 1217, is simply an attempt to erase transgender people from society and violates the United States Constitution and federal civil rights laws.

鈥淭itle IX protects all students 鈥 including those who are transgender 鈥 from discrimination based on sex,鈥 said Jett Jonelis, 网红爆料 of South Dakota advocacy manager. 鈥淚f Gov. Noem really wanted to protect fairness in women鈥檚 sports, she would tackle the actual threats to women鈥檚 sports such as severe underfunding, lack of media coverage, sexist ideologies that suggest that women and girls are weak, and pay equity for coaches. This coalition is clearly fueled by a fear and misunderstanding of transgender people.鈥

Last week, Noem proposed style and form recommendations to House Bill 1217. Her changes do not address the bill鈥檚 unlawful discrimination and still leave South Dakota open to litigation and economic fallout.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what House Bill 1217 ends up looking like,鈥 Jonelis said. 鈥淗ouse Bill 1217 has never been about leveling the playing field for student athletes. It鈥檚 been obvious from the beginning that this discriminatory legislation is about creating problems that don鈥檛 exist and, in the process, harming some of the most vulnerable people in our state.鈥

Noem鈥檚 insistence that the coalition and House Bill 1217 isn鈥檛 about transgender women and girls is incorrect.

鈥淭hese attacks on trans women and girls are rooted in the same kind of gender discrimination and stereotyping that has held back cisgender women athletes for centuries,鈥 Jonelis said. 鈥淭ransgender girls are often told that they are not girls based on inaccurate stereotypes about biology, athleticism and gender. Trans girls are girls 鈥 period. This is an attempt to erase transgender people from society.鈥

Legislation similar to House Bill 1217 has been filed across the country in recent years and has been challenged in court. In August 2020, a federal judge blocked Idaho鈥檚 law targeting transgender student athletes, recognizing that 鈥渋t is not just the constitutional rights of transgender girls and women athletes at issue but 鈥 the constitutional rights of every girl and woman athlete in Idaho鈥 and concluded that the law was based on nothing more than discrimination against transgender people.

The 网红爆料 of South Dakota is currently weighting all options to ensure the constitutional rights of transgender women and girls in South Dakota are upheld.

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