North Dakota Governor Takes Action, Bans Biological Men From Competing In Women’s Sports

On Tuesday, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND) signed a new law banning biological men from competing in women’s sports.

While Burgum acknowledged there has yet to be a “single recorded incident of a transgender girl playing or entering the process to even ask to play on a North Dakota girls’ team,” he still signed the bill into law, presumably to protect the fairness of women’s sports.

Governor Burgum also said, “Concerns raised last session about such policies jeopardizing the ability to host regional and national collegiate tournaments have not materialized in the roughly 20 states that have passed similar legislation.”

While North Dakota’s Republican legislature had voted to pass a similar law in 2021, the bill did not have a veto-proof majority. As such, the bill was vetoed by Governor Burgum.

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“To date, there has not been a single recorded incident of a transgender girl attempting to play on a North Dakota girls’ team. Further, the NDHSAA already has regulations in place for participation in sex-separated interscholastic contests by transgender students,” Burgum said of the 2021 bill.

“The most responsive sports governance is the organization closest to the teams and athletes they govern. If a question should arise related to a transgender student and athletic competition, the NDHSAA [North Dakota High School Activities Association], parents, child, their health care provider, their school and their coaches are in the best position to manage that unique situation, especially given the child’s right to privacy. This bill would unnecessarily inject the state into a local issue by creating a ban with myriad unforeseen consequences,” Burgum added.

Nonetheless, the Republican legislature persisted. This session, they passed the bill with a veto-proof majority, which would have guaranteed the bill to go into law even without the Governor’s approval. But he signed the law this Tuesday, effectively joining 19 states that have passed similar legislation.

As reported by the DC Enquirer last month, Wyoming passed the Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Sports Act, which states, “A student of the male sex shall not compete, and a public school shall not allow a student of the male sex to compete, in an athletic activity or team designated for students of the female sex.”