High school girls’ softball season opened in Minnesota under a state policy that still allows biological males to compete on girls’ teams, while a federal appeals court considers whether to block it.
The case, Female Athletes United v. Ellison, challenges the Minnesota State High School League’s (MSHSL) decade-old rule permitting students to play on teams matching their “gender identity or expression” rather than their biological sex.
Plaintiffs argue the policy violates Title IX by denying biological female athletes equal opportunity, fair competition, and safety.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys, along with co-counsel from True North Legal, represent Female Athletes United in the federal lawsuit. A U.S. District Court judge denied a preliminary injunction last September. Female Athletes United appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral arguments were held in January, but no decision has been issued.
“Minnesota is failing its female athletes. The state is putting the rights of males ahead of females, telling girls their hard work may never be enough to win and that they don’t deserve fairness and safety,” ADF Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher said in a previous statement. “By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX’s provisions.”
Championship run fuels national attention
The dispute gained national attention last year after a biological male pitcher helped win a state championship.
Alpha News reported extensively on the story of Marissa Rothenberger, born Charlie Dean Rothenberger, a biological male. Court records show Rothenberger’s parents changed the child’s name and birth certificate from male to female in 2017 when the child was nine years old.
As a junior at Champlin Park High School, Rothenberger pitched for the girls’ varsity softball team. Rothenberger threw multiple shutouts, including a complete-game shutout in the Class 4A state championship game, leading the Rebels to the 2025 title.
Federal scrutiny and state response
The performance prompted federal investigations into Minnesota’s compliance with Title IX and drew criticism from female athletes who said they were displaced or put at a disadvantage.
The MSHSL has said it will continue following its policy despite a finding by the federal government in October that it is violating Title IX. The U.S. Department of Education notified the Minnesota Department of Education and MSHSL in January that it is referring the case to the Department of Justice for enforcement action.
The policy, adopted in 2015, allows students to participate in sports based on self-identified gender. It contains no physical benchmarks or restrictions related to physiological differences between males and females, which the lawsuit argues undermines fairness and safety in girls’ competition.
State officials, led by Attorney General Keith Ellison, argue the policy complies with Title IX and protects transgender students. Ellison sued the federal government last April over its efforts to protect girls’ sports.
Legislative attempts to restrict girls’ and women’s sports to biological females have failed in the Minnesota Legislature.
Last February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” directing federal agencies to bar men from female sports and threatening to withhold funding from noncompliant schools.
ADF says current policy creates ‘unfair playing field’
Alliance Defending Freedom told Alpha News the issue remains urgent as the softball season moves forward without a court ruling.
“As we await a ruling from the Court, girls in Minnesota continue to compete on an unfair playing field,” said Hal Frampton, senior counsel and director of ADF’s Center for Conscience Initiatives.
“Title IX was designed to provide women and girls with equal opportunities. But Minnesota’s radical policy allowing males to compete in girls’ sports denies girls opportunities, upends basic fairness, and takes away their championships,” Frampton said.
He pointed to last season’s state tournament as an example of what he argues is at stake.
“As the district court opinion noted, a male athlete pitched every pitch of every inning of every game of the 2025 state championship [21 innings] and dominated, allowing a mere two runs,” Frampton said. “So, we expect the same to occur this season unless Minnesota changes course to restore common sense and recognize biological reality.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
