Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison boasted about his attempts to keep boys in girls’ sports during a recent event.
“Minnesota sued Donald Trump. Donald Trump and Pam Bondi were threatening to sue me. I sued them first because of this issue of them trying to exclude transgender athletes,” Ellison said during a Thursday event hosted by Public Citizen.
Minnesota Democrat Attorney General Keith Ellison brags about fighting to keep boys in girls' sports.
Democrats are only worried about pushing their radical agendas, not protecting your kids. pic.twitter.com/tMsern07h2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2025
Ellison was referencing his lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration for threatening to cut federal funding from schools that fail to protect female-only sports from biological males.
The two-term Democrat also issued a formal legal opinion this year in which he stated that the Minnesota Human Rights Act establishes a ban on gender identity discrimination in Minnesota, and schools that comply with Trump’s executive action on protecting girls’ sports would be in violation of state law.
“We are fighting to protect transgender athletes. In fact, we were in court doing it today,” Ellison said Thursday.
“What we’re talking about is kids, folks. We’re talking about kids, minors, who all they want to do is be on the team and build relationships with their friends, but this guy has said no, they must be excluded, they must be scapegoated,” Ellison continued. “We said absolutely, hell no.”
The federal government has launched multiple investigations into the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and the Minnesota Department of Education over the issue of transgender athletes. The feds are investigating whether Minnesota violated federal law by permitting male athletes to compete on girls’ sports teams.
Additionally, a group of Minnesota softball players sued Ellison and MSHSL in May over the state’s policy of allowing males to compete in girls’ sports. The female athletes said they have been forced to compete against a biologically male athlete in high school softball.
Earlier this year, a transgender pitcher led the Champlin Park softball team to a state championship title.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
