Republican governor cries 'cancel culture' following backlash over not signing bill to protect women's sports

In a surprise turn of events, Republican Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem chose not to sign a bill that would ban transgender women and girls from playing alongside biological females.  

As The Daily Wire reported, Noem originally applauded the bill, which garnered a great deal of support from the state's social conservatives. After learning that such legislation could result in negative legal and economic consequences for South Dakota, the governor backtracked and declared she would not be signing the bill.

According to the Associated Press, "Noem’s move Friday limits the ban to elementary and high school sports and excludes collegiate athletics. The decision was meant to placate business groups and key political backers who did not want to see the NCAA pull tournaments from the state."

This was met with backlash from many who felt that Noem was putting business interests over the interests of voters. Ian Fury, a spokesperson for the governor, quickly jumped in and pointed out how Noem's actions during the pandemic drew great ire from the left, yet she never caved. He then added,

"But if any number of conservative pundits are to be believed, that same governor who refused to cave is now caving to the NCAA and Amazon on the issue of fairness in women’s sports. What? Apparently, uninformed cancel culture is fine when the right is eating their own."

Many prominent conservatives took to social media to criticize Noem and her spokesperson for suggesting that she was a victim of conservative cancel culture, hinting that this decision may have cost her a shot at the 2024 presidential race.