Gov. Kristi Noem says transgender athlete bill ‘strongest' in the nation to protect women's sports

South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem discusses her abortion legislation proposal and a bill that would ban transgender women from participating in female sports in her state.

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said Sunday her bill making its way through South Dakota’s legislature aimed at protecting fairness in women's sports will be the "strongest bill in the nation" of its kind.

"This is about fairness," Noem said on "Fox News Sunday." "This is about making sure that our girls have a chance to be successful and to compete, to win scholarships, potentially go on to play professional sports beyond that. We want them to have the opportunity to do that.

KRISTI NOEM'S FORMER ADVISER ACCUSED GOVERNOR OF 'GASLIGHTING' WITH NEW AD ON WOMEN'S SPORTS

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota, speaks during the Family Leader summit in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 16, 2021. (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg )

"Title IX fought for that years and years ago and I've been doing this for years, which started, man, almost five years ago now in the sport of rodeo, where we protected girls’ events," she continued. "So now I'm bringing a bill to the legislature that will be the strongest bill in the nation in protecting fairness in girls’ sports, and I'm hopeful that my legislators will support it."

A South Dakota legislative committee on Friday approved a bill championed by Noem that limits collegiate and K-12 participation to the sex identified on an athlete's birth certificate. If it passes the legislature, South Dakota will become the 10th state to ban transgender people from competing on teams that match their gender identity.

The bill makes good on a promise Noem delivered when she controversially vetoed a similar bill from the state legislature