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Minnesota’s high school softball season will be in the national spotlight for the second year in a row, and hotter than in 2025.
As the U.S. Department of Justice launches a Title IX lawsuit against state education agencies for letting biological male transgender athletes play in women’s sports, Champlin Park High School is poised to become a political target.
The high school is recruiting a trans pitcher to its softball team, who became a dominant force en route to a state championship last year.
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Transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger (Amber Harding)
Now that pitcher is playing for Champlin Park again this year while President Donald Trump’s administration tries to crack down.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District, which oversees Champlin Park, stands with its athlete amid renewed national scrutiny.
“The Champlin Park softball team will compete within the rules of the Minnesota State High School League and applicable Minnesota law during the upcoming season. All participating student-athletes will meet eligibility requirements that are intended to raise standards of sportsmanship and encourage the growth of responsible citizenship for all involved. Because the school district is named in an active lawsuit involving last season, the district is limited in the additional information that can be shared regarding this matter,” the statement said. the district in a statement to PK Press Club Digital.
A women’s softball player, who is anonymously part of a lawsuit with Alliance Defending Freedom that challenges the state’s laws on trans athletes, shared her thoughts on this season’s distracting political dynamics with PK Press Club Digital.
“I just want a fair and competitive season. My hope for this season is that the focus remains on the game, while ensuring that women’s sports remains an area where female athletes have an equal opportunity to compete and succeed,” she said.
Meanwhile, another anonymous plaintiff in this lawsuit shared his gratitude for the DOJ’s intervention.
“Thank you, President Trump! I am so grateful for the support for girls in sports in Minnesota,” she said.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a federal judge, but the ADF has appealed to the appeals court and is awaiting a ruling.
CHAMPLIN PARK WINS MINNESOTA STATE SOFTBALL TITLE BEHIND COMPLETE BLEACH OF TRANS PITCHER
Former Minnesota high school softball player and current NCAA player Kendall Kotzmacher lost a heartbreaker 3-2 to Champlin Park last season, in what was her final high school game.
But Kozmacher’s younger sister, who lost with her in that game, is still ready to play this season and could be on a collision course with the trans pitcher again.
“My little sister, she played with me last year. She’s still playing, so it’s really hard,” Kotzmacher said. “I’m lucky that it’s not allowed in the NCAA level. But there are all these girls that I don’t want to go through the situations that I went through, and I don’t want my sister to have to deal with what I had to do and what she had to deal with again last year. »
Minnesota faces its own internal conflict over the issue dating back to early 2025, when Democratic lawmakers in the state Legislature killed a bill that would have barred biological males from participating in women’s sports.
State Republicans renewed that effort in recent weeks amid the DOJ crackdown, but fell short again due to Democratic control, as they failed to advance a bill in the House on Tuesday.
“Protecting girls is not hate,” said state Rep. Krista Knudsen. “When biological males enter women’s sports, girls lose. They lose medals, team spots, college scholarships and their security.”
Democratic state Rep. Kelly Moller dismissed concerns over the issue.
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“My colleagues across the aisle say you’re proposing this to protect women and girls, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The real threat to women and girls is sexual assault and gender-based violence,” Moller said.
Meanwhile, 326 school board members from 125 school districts across the state signed a letter imploring state leaders to comply with Trump’s mandate to protect girls’ sports.
