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Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Girls’ Softball State Tournament is officially underway – and so is the controversy around Champlin Park’s starting pot.
Marissa Rothenberger, a transidentifying male athlete, threw a closed closure on Wednesday morning when No. 2-seeded Champlin Park defeated No. 7 Eagan, 5-0, in Class AAAA quarterfinals. Rothenberger allowed seven hits and struck four in the victory.
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Champlin Park and Eagan Players Shake Hands after the quarterfinals Round of Minnesota Girls’ Softball State Tournament. (Amber Harding/Outkick)
Rothenberger, whose participation in girls’ sports highlights a growing trend throughout the state and the country, threw 14 shutout turns in back-to-back matches in the section finale to help Champlin Park reach the state tournament.
Wednesday did not clap everyone in the stands.
Two Eagan parents, both requesting anonymity for their daughters, expressed frustration and disappointment after the game. A mother wearing a “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirt said the result felt inevitable.
“I was pretty disappointed and frustrated,” she told Outkick. “I think we’ve seen this happen again and again to our girls. You look online and you see women switch to men and they don’t dominate any of men’s sports. You can’t see it. But on the women’s side you see it again and again all over the country. It’s super frustrating. I knew it eventually was going to happen to my daughter. I was sad to see her.”
Her frustration was not just about the scoreboard.
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“I think it’s really unfair,” she said. “I’m just really disappointed that all schools didn’t merged and said, ‘Enough is enough. We want to protect our girls and we want a fair playing field for everyone.'”
One father of another Eagan player agreed and called the situation a clear violation of federal law.
“Yes, I think it’s totally unfair – violation of the federal title IX,” he said. “And the fact that the state of Minnesota wants to ignore it is ridiculous. If they want to continue playing sports – which I think is great – can you play baseball. But doing it with girls and just getting everyone to keep quiet about things is pretty ridiculous.”
Marissa Rothenberger threw a complete play closure in the quarterfinals Round of Minnesota Girls’ Softball State Tournament. (Amber Harding/Outkick)
He added that while athletes are in any case trained to compete, Rothenberger added to Haugen a layer of frustration.
“Like athletes, you go out there and you play the hand you get, so you will continue to compete,” he said. “But again it’s frustrating.”
Champlin Park faces No. 6 White Bear Lake in the semi -finals on Wednesday afternoon.
