North Dakota government Doug Burgum (R) vetoed a ban on transgender sports on Wednesday, saying the state already has adequate rules for sports competitions involving transgender people.
“North Dakota has fairness in sports for girls and boys, thanks in large part to the caring and thoughtful leadership of the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) Board and its members,” Burgum said. “We are confident they will continue to ensure a level playing field for the more than 27,000 students participating in high school sports in North Dakota.”
State says a transgender student who does not receive hormone treatment should not exercise with the gender they identify, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
Transgender men must undergo testosterone treatment to compete in male sports competitions, and transgender women must undergo testosterone suppressing treatment for a year before entering female sports competitions.
“To date, no incident has been recorded of a transgender girl attempting to play on a North Dakota girls’ team. Furthermore, the NDHSAA already has regulations for transgender college students to participate in sex-segregated interscholastic matches,” Burgum said. .
The bill could be overridden by the state house and senate, with the house getting enough votes the first time to override the governor’s decision.
However, the Senate did not get enough votes to ignore the first time, saying it would only try to ignore the governor’s decision if the House did.
The bill said girls could play on boys’ teams, but it banned public elementary and high schools from allowing anyone to play exclusively on a school-sponsored team of the opposite sex.
The vetoed bill comes because many states have decided to ban or allow transgender athletes to play in the sports league that matches their gender.