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Minneapolis – Mrs had been working for years to become one of the best pitchers on her club Softball team. She trained hard, earned her place and was used to competing under pressure. But when she found out 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 pushed myself all season to do my best, and once I found out, I was like, all that work was for nothing – because the boy still wants to beat me no matter what.”
Mrs ultimately made the decision to go away from her club team. For her, she said, it was a no-brainer.
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“If there is a boy on this team, I will not play,” she said.
This boy (who identifies himself as a girl) was Champlin Park High School Junior Marissa Rothenberger, who took the Haugen in the AAAA Minnesota Girls’ softball state championship game on Friday morning and led the team to a title after beating a shutout.
After Trans Pitcher leads the team to the State Championship, the opponent and lawyer speak sued over the situation
ADF legal adviser: ‘Minnesota’s policy violates title IX’
The lawsuit filed last month claims that Minnesota’s gender identity -based justification rules are a direct violation of title IX, the federal law prohibiting 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 adviser Suzanne Beecher, representing the athletes. “However, according to section IX, schools that accept federal funding are obliged to provide equal opportunities for female athletes. Title IX prevents state policies such as this one that contravenes the equally overwhelming requirement of federal law.”
File -Protesters cheer under the Speech Program at “Our Bodies, Our Sports” -Rally to the 50th anniversary of section IX on Freedom Plaza on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The problem, Beecher said, goes beyond basic justice. It is also about security, lost opportunity and institutional neglect.
“This injures girls,” she told Outkick. “It puts them at security risks, and it also denies them the opportunity to promote and experience victory. These are girls who have dedicated hours and years of hard work to be the best they can be. It is heartbreaking to see that Minnesota’s unreasonable policies deny them a level playing field.”
In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that banned men from competing in girls and women’s sports, citing this same title IX protection. The order made it clear that any state that did not comply would risk losing federal funding.
In direct despite this order, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) announced that it would continue its long-standing policy of giving student athletes the opportunity to compete in events that are consistent with their gender identity, regardless of biological gender. The league quoted the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the State Constitution as the basis for this policy.
Champlin Park and Eagan Players Shake Hands after the quarterfinals Round of Minnesota Girls’ Softball State Tournament. (Amber Harding/Outkick)
Furthermore, Minnesota allows individuals to change the sex marker on their birth certificate with either a letter from a doctor or a court decision, creating a loophole that essentially makes sex -based protection useless.
“The rationale for having separate sports is because of the physiological differences between men and women,” Beecher said. “States must have policies that meaningfully separate sports, so there is a protected category for women. Girls deserve a fair and safe place where they can compete and win.”
Political problems that appear at the State Softball Tournament
The problem exploded to public opinion this week under MSHSL Girls’ State Softball Tournament, with Rothenberger helping lead Champlin Park High School to the state championship game. Champlin Park took down the Eagan High School, 5-0, in the quarterfinals and White Bear Lake, 3-2, in the semi-finals. In addition to beating back-to-back complete games, Rothenberger hit to doubles in the semi-final victory.
Mrs hit the tournament to Farmington High School, but lost in the quarterfinals. She didn’t have to meet Rothenberger directly, but she looked closely as other girls did.
“There are so many more girls that it deserves it more than just a boy,” she said. “It was just so sad to see all the girls crying and had to accept the fact that their chance of winning a state title was taken from them just because a boy threw against them.”
Champlin Park High School has made headlines after dominating Minnesota Softball State Championship behind the performance of Trans Pitcher Marissa Rothenberger. (Tyler Schand/NCAA -Photos via Getty Images)
MS has already committed to playing College Softball in St. Cloud State, but her decision to participate in the trial was not just about herself – it was about protecting girls’ sports for those who came next.
“I wanted to join the trial because it’s just painful to see a boy dominate the sport that I and other girls have grown up playing,” she said. “It’s been a safe space for so long. And seeing the safe change of space – I feel like it’s the biggest reason I would do it.”
And her message in the future is simple: “I just want girls playing in girls’ sports. Get men out of women’s sports.”
Minnesota fails her female athletes
ADF says that Minnesota’s politics is not only contrary to the federal law – it also dampens those who are affected by it. As Outkick previously reported, several parents and students in the tournament were warned by school officials not to speak or carry messages that opposed 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 offended, but also the voices of female athletes are silenced,” Beecher said. “They are told that they cannot talk about their rights.”
Kristi Burton Brown, chairman of the board of female athletes United, issued a strong statement to outkick in support of MS and the others.
“Minnesota’s extreme sex ideology has led many girls in Minnesota to lose opportunities and risk their safety, including three of our high school plains,” she wrote. “Science is aware that male athletes have physiological benefits that make it unfair and uncertain to allow them to compete against women, no matter how they identify. But Minnesota places its ideology over justice and security.
“The only way to protect the safety and opportunities of female athletes is to ensure that only girls compete in girls’ sports. Minnesota fails her female athletes and its politics must be changed to reflect biological reality.”
Mrs. comes back on the field next year for her senior season. Maybe at that time the rules will catch up on reality.
“I hope the state tournament next year is very different than it was this year,” she said.
