'I've proven myself for YEARS': Gov. Kristi Noem FIRES BACK after Tucker Carlson suggests she 'caved' on transgender bill



South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) had a tense interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Monday over claims she "caved to the NCAA." Rather than signing a bill that would have banned transgender girls and women from competing against biological females in sports, Noem returned it to the legislature for "style and form" changes, arguing to Carlson the current version "wouldn't solve the problem."

Noem joined Glenn Beck on the radio program Tuesday to defend her decision, saying conservatives must be "strategic" in the fight to defend Title IX, which is why she's formed national coalition to do just that.

"When have you ever known me to cave, Glenn? I didn't go through this whole last year, being the only one to keep my state open in the entire nation, to fight for what was right, and have everybody piling on, to cave on something like this," Noem asserted. "So, I'm trying to be smart and solve a problem. And I think a lot of times, we get bullied. We get bullied by the Left, but the Right can bully, too. And they're not looking at the facts. So in this situation, the coalition that I'm forming is to go after the NCAA. They have been bullying states for a long time with their policies by forcing us to allow men to participate in women's sports.

"I'm a small state. South Dakota is small," she continued. "We have to fight hard to even get any tournaments or games in the state of South Dakota. And I recognize the NCAA can come in and crush me, and can make an example out of me, and point to South Dakota and say, 'See, no other state better challenge us whatsoever.' So that's why I'm trying to be smart about this and build a coalition of athletes, of states, of governors, of attorneys generals, and show the NCAA that we're going to fight to make sure that only girls can play in girls' sports."

"We have to stand and up defend the rights that we have, and the federal law that we have in place, that women are women and only women should play in women's sports. And we can do that in a way that picks a fight — and fails — or we can do it in the smart way, and build momentum, so that we can actually win," Noem explained, adding that she's been fighting this issue "for years" now.

"If people would do their homework for once, and go back and look, [they would see that] years ago, I fought the USDA and the federal government when they were trying to force rodeos to let boys into girls' events and to make girls participate in boys' events. And I fought them alone. And got South Dakota to be able to still keep boys' and girls' events separated," she added. "So there there's no gray area for me on this. I've proven myself for years on this issue. And I'll continue to do this, regardless of who decides that they want to try to attack me and bully me."

Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:


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Alliance Defending Freedom slams Gov. Kristi Noem for vetoing girls' and women's sports bill



Supporters of South Dakota's Fairness in Women's Sports bill are accusing Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of "betrayal" and "pandering to special interests" after she vetoed the legislation, sending it back to the state legislature with recommended changes.

The legislation, H.B. 1217, would prohibit any student at a state school from joining a sports team that does not match his or her biological sex. So, for example, a boy who identifies as female and takes hormones to affirm his gender identity would be prohibited from playing on girls' sports teams or competing against girls.

Republican majorities in the state legislature sent the bill to Noem's desk for her signature, and although at first she said she was "excited" to sign it, on Friday Noem issued a "style and form" veto, sending it back to lawmakers.

In a statement, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal group that supports social conservative causes, blasted the governor's decision.

"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," Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner said. "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."

The South Dakota state constitution empowers the governor to send bills "with errors in style or form" back to the legislature with specific recommendations for change.

In a letter to lawmakers, Noem stated her belief that "boys should play boys' sports, and girls should play girls' sports," but said she was "concerned that this bill's vague and overly broad language could have significant unintended consequences."

Among her concerns is that the bill is "unrealistic in the context of collegiate athletics." Both the NCAA and the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce reportedly lobbied Noem against the bill. The NCAA objected to policies it views as discriminatory against transgender athletes, and the Chamber of Commerce was concerned that the state could lose millions of dollars of business revenue if South Dakota colleges and universities lose NCAA accreditation and tournament games are no longer held in the state.

"Competing on the national stage means compliance with the national governing bodies that oversee collegiate athletics," Noem wrote to lawmakers.

"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," she said.

Republican sponsors of the bill said Noem's proposed changes would significantly weaken the legislation and be morally inconsistent.

"The recommended changes will substantially change the content of the bill. The legality was removed, which leaves the bill with a very weak authority. Removing the collegiate is simply saying that biology matters in high school, but not in college," Republican state Sen. Maggie Sutton, the bill's lead sponsor in the state senate said.

Republican state Rep. Rhonda Milstead, H.B. 1217's sponsor in the House, accused the governor of violating the state constitution with her veto.

The state constitution says: "Bills with errors in style or form may be returned to the Legislature by the Governor with specific recommendations for change." Milstead argues the proposed changes go beyond "style" or "form" to be tantamount to legislation from the executive branch.

"It is overreaching by trying to legislate law as the executive branch," Milstead said.

Noem's explanation was also received poorly by the Alliance Defending Freedom.

"We are shocked that a governor who claims to be a firebrand conservative with a rising national profile would cave to 'woke' corporate ideology," Waggoner said.

She continued: "The governor tried to explain her betrayal with claims that her hands were tied by NCAA policy. But there is no NCAA policy that requires schools to allow males to compete on women's teams as Gov. Noem suggests. The governor also vetoed the part of the bill that gives girls any legal recourse against unfair policies that arise. What's left is mere lip service for women and girls forced to compete against biological males."