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Minnesota’s high school softball season will be in the national spotlight for the second straight year, and a hotter season than 2025.
As the U.S. Department of Justice launches a Title IX lawsuit against state education agencies for allowing biological male trans athletes to play in girls’ sports, Champlin Park High School is set to become a political target.
The high school is adding a trans pitcher to its softball team that emerged as a dominant force en route to a state championship last year.
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Transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger (Amber Harding)
Now that pitcher is playing for Champlin Park again this year as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to crack down.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District, which oversees Champlin Park, is standing by its athlete amid the renewed national investigation.
“The Champlin Park Softball team will compete in accordance with Minnesota State High School League rules and applicable Minnesota law this coming season. All participating student-athletes will meet the eligibility criteria, which are intended to raise the standards of sportsmanship and encourage the growth of responsible citizenship for all involved. Because the school district is named in an active lawsuit involving last season, the district may share in additional Pakinomist information regarding this matter,” the district said. Digital.
A girls softball player who is anonymously part of a lawsuit with the Alliance Defending Freedom challenging the state’s laws on trans athletes shared her thoughts on this season’s distracting political dynamics with Pakinomist Digital.
“I just want a fair and competitive season. My hope for this season is that the focus remains on the game while making sure girls’ sports remains a place where female athletes have equal opportunities to compete and succeed,” she said.
Meanwhile, another anonymous plaintiff in this lawsuit shared gratitude for the DOJ’s intervention.
“Thank you, President Trump! I am so grateful for the support for girls in sports in Minnesota,” she said.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a federal judge, but ADF has appealed to the Court of Appeals and is awaiting a decision there.
CHAMPLIN PARK WINS MINNESOTA SOFTBALL STATE TITLE BEHIND TRANS PITCHER’S COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT
Former Minnesota high school softball player and current NCAA player Kendall Kotzmacher lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Champlin Park last season in what was her final high school game.
But Kozmacher’s younger sister, who lost with her in that game, is still set to play this season and could be on a collision course with the trans pitcher again.
“My little sister, she played with me last year. She’s still playing, so it’s really hard,” Kotzmacher said. “I’m lucky enough that it’s not allowed on NCAA level. But there are all these girls that I don’t want to ever go through the situations that I did, and I don’t want my sister to deal with what I had to do and what she had to deal with last year again.”
Minnesota has faced its own internal conflict over the issue dating back to early 2025, when Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature tabled a bill that would have barred biological males from competing in girls’ sports.
State Republicans renewed that effort in recent weeks amid the DOJ crackdown, but were once again unsuccessful due to Democratic control as they failed to advance a bill on the House Floor on Tuesday.
“Protecting girls is not hate,” said State Rep. Krista Knudsen. “When biological males enter girls’ sports, girls lose. They lose medals, they lose roster spots, they lose college scholarships and they lose their security.”
Democratic state representative Kelly Moller dismissed concerns about the issue.
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“My colleagues across the aisle say you are bringing this to protect women and girls, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The real threat to women and girls is sexual assault and gender-based violence,” Moller said.
Meanwhile, 326 school board members in 125 school districts in the state signed a letter imploring state leadership to honor Trump’s mandate to protect girls’ sports.
