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MINNEAPOLIS – M.S. had worked for years to become one of the top pitchers on her club softball team. She trained hard, earned her spot and was used to competing under pressure. But when she learned that the teammate she was now expected to compete against for pitching time was actually male, everything changed.
“I just started bawling right away,” the 17-year-old told OutKick. “I was pushing myself all season to do my best, and once I found out, I was like, all that work was for nothing — because the boy’s still gonna beat me no matter what.”
M.S. ultimately made the decision to walk away from her club team. For her, she said, it was a no-brainer.
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“If there’s a boy on this team, I’m not going to be playing,” she said.
That boy (who identifies as a girl) was Champlin Park High School junior Marissa Rothenberger, who took the mound in the Class AAAA Minnesota girls’ softball state championship game on Friday morning and led the team to a title after pitching a shutout.
Now, M.S. is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) on behalf of Female Athletes United (FAU). The lawsuit challenges the state of Minnesota and its public school districts over policies that allow trans-identifying male athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
ADF legal counsel: ‘Minnesota’s Policy Violates Title IX’
The lawsuit, filed last month, argues that Minnesota’s gender-identity-based eligibility rules are a direct violation of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, including athletics.
“Minnesota currently has a policy that allows male athletes to compete in women’s sports,” explained ADF Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher, who is representing the athletes. “But under Title IX, schools that accept federal funding are required to provide equal opportunities for female athletes. Title IX preempts state policies like this, which violate the equal accommodation requirement of federal law.”
FILE – Demonstrators cheer during the speaking program at the “Our Bodies, Our Sports” rally for the 50th anniversary of Title IX at Freedom Plaza on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The problem, Beecher said, goes beyond basic fairness. It’s also about safety, lost opportunity and institutional neglect.
“This is harming girls,” she told OutKick. “It’s putting them at safety risks, and it’s also denying them the opportunity to advance and experience victory. These are girls who have dedicated hours and years of hard work to being the best they can be. It’s heartbreaking to see that Minnesota’s unfair policies are denying them a level playing field.”
In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning males from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, citing these same Title IX protections. The order made clear that any state failing to comply would risk losing federal funding.
In direct defiance of this order, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) announced that it would continue its longstanding policy of allowing student-athletes to compete in events consistent with their gender identity, regardless of biological sex. The league cited the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the state constitution as the basis for this policy.
Champlin Park and Eagan players shake hands following the quarterfinals round of the Minnesota Girls’ Softball State Tournament. (Amber Harding/OutKick)
Further, Minnesota allows individuals to change the sex marker on their birth certificate with either a letter from a physician or a court order, creating a loophole that essentially renders sex-based protections useless.
“The justification for having separate sports is because of the physiological differences between males and females,” Beecher said. “States need to have policies that meaningfully separate sports so there is a protected category for females. Girls deserve a fair and safe place where they can compete and win.”
Policy problems on display at state softball tournament
The issue exploded into public view this week during the MSHSL Girls’ State Softball Tournament, where Rothenberger helped lead Champlin Park High School to the state championship game. Champlin Park took down Eagan High School, 5-0, in the quarterfinals and White Bear Lake, 3-2, in the semifinals. In addition to pitching back-to-back complete games, Rothenberger hit two doubles in that semifinal win.
M.S. pitched in the tournament for Farmington High School but lost in the quarterfinals. She didn’t have to face Rothenberger directly, but she watched closely as other girls did.
“There are so many more girls that deserve it more than just a boy,” she said. “It was just so sad to see all the girls crying and having to accept the fact that their chance at winning a state title was taken from them just because a boy was pitching against them.”
Champlin Park High School has made headlines after dominating the Minnesota softball state championship behind the performance of trans pitcher Marissa Rothenberger. (Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
M.S. has already committed to play college softball at St. Cloud State, but her decision to join the lawsuit wasn’t just about herself — it was about protecting girls’ sports for those coming next.
“I wanted to join the lawsuit because it’s just painful to see a boy dominating the sport that me and other girls have grown up playing,” she said. “It’s been a safe space for so long. And to see that safe space change — I feel like that’s the biggest reason why I wanted to do it.”
And her message going forward is simple: “I want just girls playing in girls’ sports. Get men out of women’s sports.”
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Minnesota is failing its female athletes
ADF says Minnesota’s policy doesn’t just violate federal law — it also silences those impacted by it. As OutKick previously reported, several parents and students in the tournament were warned by school officials not to speak out or wear messages opposing trans participation in the state tournament.
The current iteration of the Minnesota state flag as seen in St. Paul, March 24, 2022. (Mohamed Ibrahim/Report for America via AP, File)
“Not only is Title IX being violated, but also the voices of female athletes are being silenced,” Beecher said. “They’re being told they can’t speak out about their rights.”
Kristi Burton Brown, chairperson of the board for Female Athletes United, issued a powerful statement to OutKick in support of M.S. and the others.
“Minnesota’s extreme gender ideology has caused many girls in Minnesota to lose out on opportunities and risk their safety, including three of our high school athletes,” she wrote. “Science is clear that male athletes have physiological advantages that make it unfair and unsafe to allow them to compete against women, no matter how they identify. But Minnesota places its ideology over fairness and safety.
“The only way to protect female athletes’ safety and opportunities is to ensure that only girls compete in girls’ sports. Minnesota is failing its female athletes, and its policy must be changed to reflect biological reality.”
M.S. will be back on the field next year for her senior season. Maybe by then, the rules will catch up with reality.
“I hope that the state tournament next year is a lot different than it was this year,” she said.
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