Minnesota softball players sue Keith Ellison, state high school league over transgender athlete policy

Three metro-area high school softball players are suing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and other state leaders to remove transgender athletes from their sport.

In a federal lawsuit filed Monday, an organization representing the three players from two high schools, Female Athletes United, alleges that a decade-old Minnesota policy allowing transgender athletes to compete has created an unsafe and unfair environment for the Maple Grove High and Farmington High players. The suit focuses on an unnamed metro-area player who the plaintiffs allege was born male.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in the increasingly polarized debate over the participation of transgender athletes in high school and college sports. In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which declared a person’s sex as the gender assigned at birth and banned transgender people from participating in girls and women’s sports.

Following that executive order, the NCAA’s board of governors voted to update its participation policy to limit competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth, while athletes assigned as male at birth can only practice with women’s teams. The NCAA’s previous policy permitted transgender athletes to compete using a sport-by-sport approach.

The Minnesota State High School League responded to Trump’s executive order, saying it would review its policy but kept it in place. In April, Ellison sued the Trump administration over the executive orders that Ellison said amount to “bullying” of trans children.

According to the suit, the plaintiffs “all believe that it is unsafe and unfair to play against a male athlete, particularly in softball,” and that female athletes are at a “significant disadvantage” against male athletes.

“These three girls are ... seeking justice after having been denied their Title IX rights,” Renee K. Carlson, one of the students’ attorneys, told the Star Tribune. “They have suffered harm by being denied opportunities to compete while the erroneous Minnesota State High School League bylaws allow a boy to compete on a girls team. They have suffered physical and emotional injuries due to playing with boys.”

In a statement to the Star Tribune, Ellison said he will “continue to defend the rights of all students to play sports with their friends and peers.”

“In addition to getting exercise and the fun of competition, playing sports comes with so many benefits for young people,” Ellison said. “You build friendships that can last a lifetime, you learn how to work as part of a team, and you get to feel like you belong. I believe it is wrong to single out one group of students, who already face higher levels of bullying and harassment, and tell these kids they cannot be on the team because of who they are.”

In addition to Ellison, other officials named in the suit are Erich Martens, MSHSL executive director; Willie Jett, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education; and Rebecca Lucero, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The Star Tribune is not naming the students because it generally does not name minors involved in pending legal action.

A community relations official with Osseo Area Schools, which includes Maple Grove High, which is attended by one of the plaintiffs, said the district is “following guidance from the attorney general and state laws.” Farmington Area Public Schools said it is aware of the lawsuit, but does not comment on pending or active litigation.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights told the Star Tribune: “The Minnesota Human Rights Act is one the strongest civil rights laws in the country and protects every Minnesotan from discrimination. We will respond in court.”

“Additionally, they reasonably fear that they could be injured,” according to the suit, which describes the player as a dominant pitcher. The plaintiffs are seeking “the benefits of competing against only women and girls in athletic competitions.”

In a statement, Suzanne Beecher, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom group that is also representing the students said “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.”

The MSHSL’s current bylaw allows participation for all students “consistent with their gender identity or expression in an environment free from discrimination with an equal opportunity for participation in athletics and fine arts.” Citing the Data Privacy Act, the MSHSL does not require, nor does it keep, records of transgender athletes in Minnesota.

State Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, the state’s only transgender legislator, weighed in Tuesday, saying “hopefully this will be struck down and we move on, and kids who are already playing can continue to play. But I’m concerned.

“It’s really unfortunate that students are taking other students to court to keep them from playing, given what we know about playing sports and the health and social and societal benefits.”