Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender athlete at the center of a statewide controversy, pitched a complete-game shutout Friday to lead the Champlin Park Rebels to a 6–0 victory over the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars in the Class 4A Minnesota State High School Softball Championship.
Rothenberger, the Rebels’ junior right-hander, allowed no runs and helped seal Champlin Park’s historic postseason run with a dominant performance on the mound.
🚨 BREAKING: “Marissa” Rothenberger, a biological male, just single-handedly led Champlin Park to a 6-0 shutout to win the Minnesota Girls’ State Championship.
Every single Democrat in Minnesota voted to make this insanity possible.
Sickening. pic.twitter.com/ohdgQ42onJ
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) June 6, 2025
Rothenberger’s continued presence in girls’ high school sports has sparked backlash from parents, athletes, and conservative legal groups, especially as Champlin Park advanced through the postseason with wins over Eagan, White Bear Lake, and now Bloomington Jefferson.
Court records show legal sex change
As previously reported by Alpha News, court records show Rothenberger’s legal name and sex were changed in 2017, when the athlete was just nine years old, according to a report from Reduxx.
The Hennepin County District Court granted a petition filed by Rothenberger’s mother, changing the name from “Charlie Dean” to “Marissa” and the sex designation to female, the report said.
OutKick: Parents at semifinal game express outrage
According to OutKick, the frustration reached a boiling point during the Rebels’ semifinal win over White Bear Lake. One player reportedly turned to her father in the stands and asked, “Why can’t you do something?”
While no parents were willing to speak on record, OutKick reported that two White Bear Lake fathers expressed deep frustration with the system that allowed their daughters to compete against Rothenberger—placing blame on state officials and Democratic lawmakers.
“You’re looking at a whole team of future Republicans,” one father told the outlet.
Lawsuit challenges Minnesota’s transgender athlete policy
Last month, Alpha News reported that Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of three high school girls, accusing Attorney General Keith Ellison, the Minnesota State High School League, and other state officials of violating Title IX by allowing biologically male athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
According to the complaint, the three plaintiffs say they’ve been directly impacted by competing against Rothenberger—one was hit by a pitch and injured, another lost key postseason games to the athlete, and a third left her team to avoid competing with Rothenberger for pitching time.
The MSHSL policy, adopted in 2015, allows students to participate in sports based on self-identified gender. It contains no physical benchmarks or restrictions related to biological sex, which the lawsuit argues undermines fairness and safety in girls’ competition.
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.
