Supporters of a proposed change to Minnesota high school sports eligibility rules urged the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) on Oct. 8 to move forward with an amendment that would require participation in sex-separated athletics to be based on biological sex.
The amendment is being advanced through the Make It Fair Minnesota initiative and would change MSHSL eligibility rules by requiring students participating in sex-separated sports to compete based on biological sex rather than gender identity.
MSHSL Executive Director Erich Martens described the proposal during the meeting as an amendment to the league’s existing bylaw on age and sex that would have “sex-separated sports be based on biological sex only.” League officials said the proposal has been submitted through the league’s amendment process, with final language due Oct. 15 before it is distributed to member schools.
Among the public comments highlighted from the meeting, four speakers backed the proposal or urged the league to allow it to advance through its established amendment process.
One speaker, a journalist and former middle school coach, argued that girls’ sports exist as a separate category because biological sex affects athletic competition.
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MSHSL Board Mtg 10/8/26 pic.twitter.com/8ilUW0L6qd— Make It Fair MN (@MakeItFairMN) October 9, 2026
“Being male produces advantages in strength, speed, skeletal structure and endurance that do no not disappear with one’s beliefs about himself, hormones or surgery,” she said.
“Girls’ sports are an inclusion strategy for girls, including girls with trans identities,” she continued. “No boy is eligible for girls’ sports. He is eligible for boys’ sports, regardless of his identity.”
She urged the league to adopt the proposed amendment.
“I urge the MSHSL to follow your procedure and adopt Make It Fair Minnesota’s amendment to restore single-sex sports and spaces,” she said.
Anoka-Hennepin School Board member Zach Arco also spoke in support of the amendment but focused much of his comments on the league’s established process.
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MSHSL Board meeting 10/8/26 pic.twitter.com/QIxSaGTdch
— Make It Fair MN (@MakeItFairMN) October 9, 2026
“Perhaps most schools will oppose this amendment. Perhaps most schools will support it. But neither outcome eliminates the process,” Arco said.
Arco also raised questions about the interaction between Minnesota law and recent federal court decisions, particularly the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case West Virginia v. B.P.J. in favor of a law preventing men from competing in women’s sports.
“Exactly how the Minnesota Human Rights Act interacts with [the] Supreme Court’s new decision remains a question for the courts,” Arco said. “It is not a question conclusively settled by the attorney general’s pre-BPJ decision.”
Arco’s comment was a reference to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s February 2025 legal opinion in which he asserted that Minnesota law requires biological boys to be able to participate in female sports.
A third speaker told board members that their decisions surrounding eligibility rules have significant consequences for students.
“You quietly do what you do as the board, but your decisions have vastly, incredibly public ramifications,” she said.
She urged the board to approve the proposal, saying, “Do the right thing. Do the safe thing. Pass the Keep It Fair bylaw and restore our state’s compliance with Title IX standards.”
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MN MSHSL Board meeting 10/8/26 pic.twitter.com/cFrwf91keD
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A fourth speaker, Anoka-Hennepin School Board member Linda Hoekman, emphasized the league’s amendment process rather than asking board members to resolve the underlying policy questions.
“I’m just asking you to follow the process and let your member schools decide,” she said.
“Please honor the bylaws and distribute the proposed amendment,” Hoekman added, noting that the proposed amendment has cleared the first threshold of getting support from five member schools.
In Brainerd, the school board voted unanimously, 6-0, on Sept. 21 to support continued review of the proposed amendment through the MSHSL’s established process.
During the meeting, a Brainerd board member who supported the amendment said, “My concern about biological boys competing on girls’ teams is not about disrespecting any student. It’s about recognizing that biological differences in strength, speed, endurance and physical development matter in competitive athletics.”
“We should be able to support every student while also protecting opportunities for girls to compete on a level playing field,” the board member continued.
Under the MSHSL process, the proposed amendment will move to the league’s 16 region committees after being distributed to member schools. The regions have until Feb. 15 to vote, and nine of the 16 must vote in favor for the amendment to advance to the full Representative Assembly in May.
Alpha News reached out to MSHSL for comment but did not receive a response.
Symone Harms
Symone Harms is a Media Production and Business Marketing student at Bethel University. She is actively involved in The Royals Investment Fund, The 25, theatre, and other leadership positions. She also cohosts Rooted, a podcast dedicated to being rooted in truth, growing in freedom, and prospering in life. A Minnesota native with a passion for storytelling and digital media, she aspires to a career in broadcasting as a news anchor and reporter.
