Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison insisted that allowing males in female sports “doesn’t harm anyone” as he comes under pressure from local school officials to take the Trump administration’s deal on resolving the state’s Title IX violations.
Mr. Ellison, a Democrat, defended the state’s policy permitting students to compete based on gender identity as more than 160 elected school board members joined an open letter urging him to accept the federal government’s terms.
“Letting the very small number of transgender students in Minnesota play on their school sports teams doesn’t harm anyone, but segregating them does,” said Mr. Ellison in a Tuesday statement to local news outlets.
“Exclusion is a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which has protected the rights of trans kids to participate in all extracurricular activities for decades,” he said.
While it’s true that state law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, not all high school girls would agree that competing against males is a non-issue.
Three anonymous Minnesota softball players sued the state in May as transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger dominated the competition, leading Champlin Park High School to a 2025 girls’ state softball title.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Sept. 30 that Minnesota’s policy violates Title IX and proposed a resolution agreement requiring the state to adopt biologically based definitions of “male” and “female,” as well as separate sports by sex and restore girls’ titles won by transgender athletes.
The department gave the state 10 days to enter into the agreement or face the consequences, which could include a loss of federal education funding.
That deadline is Friday.
In their open letter, a coalition of school board members representing themselves, not their districts, called on Mr. Ellison, the Minnesota Department of Education, and the Minnesota State High School League to “take prompt action to protect our students and our public school funding.”
“By allowing males to participate in female sports and access female intimate spaces, MDE and MSHSL have denied female students equal athletic opportunities and compromised their privacy, safety, and dignity — outcomes that undermine the very purpose of Title IX,” said the letter posted on www.titleixmn.com.
“Entering into the resolution agreement will align state policies with federal requirements, safeguarding students’ rights and ensuring that our schools can operate without the risk of federal enforcement actions,” the document said.
Mr. Ellison said he was also worried about federal funding cuts, but has no intention of backing down from his legal fight with President Trump over transgender rights.
“I too am concerned about the Trump Administration’s threats to cut education funding for kids across Minnesota, but this matter is before the court right now,” Mr. Ellison said in his statement.
In April, Mr. Ellison filed a lawsuit to block Mr. Trump’s executive orders banning gender ideology and transgender athletes from competing in female scholastic sports.
“The federal government’s threats violate the U.S. Constitution, Minnesota law, and Title IX itself,” Mr. Ellison said. “I’m fighting to prevent these harmful cuts, stop the Administration’s bullying of transgender kids who just want to live their lives in peace, and protect the rights and freedoms of all our students in Minnesota.”
Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments prohibits sex discrimination in education.
Democrats have argued that “sex” includes gender identity, while Mr. Trump declared in his Jan. 20 executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism” that “sex” refers only to biological sex.
Mr. Ellison scored a court victory last month after a federal judge denied a motion from Female Athletes United, which includes the three anonymous softball players, for a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing its transgender-eligibility policy.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Female Athletes United, filed an emergency motion Monday for a preliminary injunction with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“With the softball season fast approaching, FAU’s female members will be forced to compete against a male and forever lose their right to equal and safe athletic opportunity,” said the motion. “Because irreparable harm is imminent, the Court should issue an injunction pending appeal without delay.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.