Minnesota AG sued over trans athletes in girls sports amid softball controversy

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is facing a lawsuit for enabling trans athletes to compete in girls sports as the state faces an ongoing controversy involving a trans pitcher dominating the softball season. 

The religious law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the activist group Female Athletes United and three anonymous girls softball players in the state over the ongoing controversy. 

“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,” Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher told Fox News Digital. 

“By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX’s provisions. Our client, Female Athletes United, is right to stand up for its members by challenging the state’s discriminatory policy and advocate for true equality in sports.”

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison arrives to speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.  (Getty Images)

The defendants are Ellison, the Minnesota State High School League Executive Director Erich Martens, Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett.

Ellison’s office has released a statement responding to the lawsuit.

“In addition to getting exercise and the fun of competition, playing sports comes with so many benefits for young people. 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,” Ellison said. 

“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. I will continue to defend the rights of all students to play sports with their friends and peers.”

Reports of the trans softball pitcher winning 14 straight games heading into the playoffs and earning first-team All-State honors rocked the state in recent weeks. 

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Former Vikings player Jack Brewer even spoke out about the controversy rocking his state’s high school sports scene. 

“In any sport — especially something like softball — people can get seriously hurt. A man hits the ball harder. A man throws the ball faster. So, the idea of allowing men to compete in women’s softball — especially now, when that sport has grown in visibility and opportunity — is insane,” Brewer told Fox News Digital. 

Meanwhile, Ellison is suing President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice to ensure transgender athletes can continue participating in girls sports in the state.

After Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, the Minnesota State High School League announced it would defy federal law by allowing transgender athletes to continue playing in women’s sports.

Ellison then claimed at a press conference on April 22 that he received notice from the Department of Justice threatening legal action if the state did not follow the executive order, so the AG decided to sue first. 

“I’m not going to sit around waiting for the Trump administration to sue Minnesota. Today, Minnesota is suing him and his administration because we will not participate in this shameful bullying,” Ellison said. “We will not let a small group of vulnerable children who are only trying be healthy and live their lives be demonized.”

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The White House has responded to the lawsuit, condemning Ellison for taking legal action to enable trans inclusion. 

“Why would a grown man sue the Trump administration to allow other biological males to participate in women’s sports? This is creepy and anti-woman,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. 

Minnesota’s state legislature failed to pass the “Preserving Girls’ Sports Act” in early March, which would have stated that “only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls.”

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