Dear Red States: You Don’t Need the NCAA

Rob Jenkins Apr 18, 2021

A few short months ago, Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota was a rising star in the Republican Party, due largely to her deft handling of the pandemic. Unlike so many elected officials, even on our side, she refused to sanction lockdown orders or mask mandates in her state. 

Then she caved to the “transgender” lobby, declining to sign a bill that banned males from participating in women’s sports—legislation she had earlier promised to back. Overnight, she went from being a likely future Vice President of the United States, and possibly even President one day, to being a future former governor of South Dakota.  

Memo to the other 26 Republican governors: Don’t be like Kristi Noem. 

The reason for Noem’s reversal, she said, was a threat from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to withdraw tournament games and other sporting events from states that do not affirm “transgender rights.” The association has recently made good on that threat, issuing the

“The NCAA Board of Governors firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports. This commitment is grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition….When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected.”   

Anyone can see what’s going on here. It’s basically a form of extortion. The Left has never cared about sports, per se, except as an instrument of “social change.” Weenies that they are, Leftists aren’t really into the whole sweaty, physical competition thing. Nor do they believe in “the myth of meritocracy”—and no endeavor in life is more meritocratic than sports, where success depends entirely on ability, skill, and hard work.

Now the Left has co-opted the NCAA in its long, Gramscian march through the institutions. ..........To Read More...