ADF to Gov. Noem: Criticism is not engaging in cancel culture
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s reported characterization of her decision to illegitimately use her “style and form” veto power to gut the Fairness in Women’s Sports bill, H.B. 1217, as attempts to “cancel” her:
“Alliance Defending Freedom defends victims of cancel culture every day. Exposing invented explanations for bad decisions and criticizing Gov. Noem for caving to woke corporations is not cancel culture. It’s accountability. And it’s a grave injustice to compare public criticism of her decision to gut the Fairness in Women’s Sports legislation to those who have truly been victimized by cancel culture. The truth is there is no NCAA policy that requires males to compete against girls. The governor could have demonstrated courage in the face of special interests but instead is using sleight of hand and smoke and mirrors to cover her tracks. That’s not what a real leader does. Real leadership does the right thing even when it’s hard. That’s what other governors have done. And that’s what 14 attorneys general did when they signed in support of similar legislation in Idaho. Gov. Noem caved to pressure from corporate special interests when others haven’t, and it has harmed the broader effort to protect fairness in women’s sports. We hope Gov. Noem will join these states by signing H.B. 1217 rather than continuing her current course.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Kristen Waggoner
As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based legal organization in protecting fundamental freedoms and promoting the inherent dignity of all people throughout the U.S. and around the world. Waggoner oversees the efforts of more than 400 ADF team members in seven global offices as well as nearly 5,000 network attorneys engaged in litigation, legislation, training, funding, and public advocacy. ADF also provides legal counsel to over 3,500 churches and ministries through its Ministry Alliance program and defends the persecuted church in dozens of countries. Since 2011, ADF has won 15 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including serving on Mississippi’s legal team in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Waggoner successfully argued three of those cases: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Uzuebgunam v. Presczewski, and 303 Creative v. Elenis. She is a Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ attorney in Martindale-Hubbell, who clerked for Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court after law school and served in private practice in Seattle for nearly 20 years.