ADF joins Heritage, Save Women's Sports, many others in open letter to SD Gov. Noem
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding an open invitation letter sent Monday to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem from the existing nationwide coalition seeking to save girls’ and women’s sports—of which Alliance Defending Freedom, Heritage Action, Save Women’s Sports, Concerned Women for America, and numerous other groups are a part—asking her to join them in support of legislation to fully protect female athletes. The letter follows Noem’s decision to gut the recently passed Fairness in Women’s Sports bill (H.B. 1217) by removing the legal recourse provided to women and girls when they face unfair policies and eliminating the bill’s protections for college athletes altogether:
“The letter that ADF has joined invites Gov. Noem to be part of the longstanding and broad, nationwide coalition which has been fighting for legislation ensuring female athletes at all levels have fair competition, are substantively protected, and have legal recourse if their rights are violated. That was the essence of H.B. 1217, which she gutted despite very similar legislation having been signed into law in Idaho last year—with 14 attorneys general backing it—and in Mississippi and Arkansas earlier this month. We have heard Gov. Noem’s recent insistence that she cares about this important issue and, as such, plead with her to reconsider her actions and support meaningful legislation that protects all women—from kindergarten to college—and that gives them a legal remedy if they need it. And moving forward we would gladly welcome her participation in our coalition to protect fairness for women in sports and to stand up to the ‘woke’ corporate interests and activist groups who are neglecting them.”
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.
# # #
Related Resources
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.