South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signs bill banning transgender athletes from female sports teams

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed a bill into law Thursday that bans transgender girls and college-aged women from playing on female high school and college sports teams. It is the first state to enact a transgender athlete restriction this year, according to the Associated Press.

"This bill is about fairness," Noem said at a press conference. "It's about allowing biological females in their sex to compete fairly in a level playing field that gives them opportunities for success."

The law mandates that any female interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural or club athletic team in the state only accept a student whose "biological sex" is female. The legislation defines biological sex as either "male" or "female" and classifies students based on their official birth certificate issued at or around the athlete's time of birth.