A South Dakota high school is dropping its mascot from “Lady Governors” to “Governors” months after the state elected its first female governor.
Pierre T.F. Riggs High School, in the state’s capital city, has perennially called called its boys’ athletic teams the “Governors” but included the honorific “Lady” before the mascot for girl teams. But no more after the state elected Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, school officials told the local newspaper on Tuesday.
“A lot of schools are moving towards a joint identity,” Riggs Athletic Director Brian Moser told The Pierre Capital Journal. “We figured that we should be a part of that. It’s a way of uniting our athletes under one banner.”
In a statement to The Washington Times, a staffer for Ms. Noem welcomed the decision, calling it “great news!”
“There is no such thing as a boy job or a girl job, and there’s no need to differentiate between boy governors and girl governors,” said the staffer, who noted Ms. Noem would cheer on the Pierre Governors at upcoming games this season.
According to the Center for American Women in Politics, women have been elected governor in 28 states. Ms. Noem previously served as the state’s lone congresswoman.
• Christopher Vondracek can be reached at cvondracek@washingtontimes.com.
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