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Minnesota’s high school softball season will be in the national spotlight for the second year in a row, and it will be hotter than it was in 2025.
As the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a Title IX lawsuit against state education agencies for allowing biological trans male athletes to play women’s sports, Champlin Park High School will become a political target.
The high school features a trans pitcher on its softball team, who emerged as 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 in Champlin Park again this year as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to crack down.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District, which oversees Champlin Park, stands by its athlete amid renewed national scrutiny.
“The Champlin Park Softball team will compete in accordance with the rules of the Minnesota State High School League and applicable Minnesota law this upcoming season. All participating student-athletes will meet eligibility criteria 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 as to the additional information that can be shared regarding this matter,” the district said in a statement. a statement to Pak Gazette Digital.
A women’s softball player, who is anonymously part of a lawsuit with Alliance Defending Freedom challenging state laws on trans athletes, shared her thoughts on this season’s distracting political dynamic with Pak Gazette Digital.
“I just want a fair and competitive season. My hope for this season is to keep the focus on the game, while ensuring that women’s sports remain a place where athletes have equal opportunities to compete and succeed,” she said.
Meanwhile, another anonymous plaintiff in that lawsuit shared his gratitude for the Justice Department’s intervention.
“Thank you, President Trump! I am so grateful for the support of girls in sports in Minnesota,” she said.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a federal judge, but ADF filed an appeal in an appeals court and is awaiting a decision there.
CHAMPLIN PARK WINS MINNESOTA SOFTBALL STATE TITLE BEHIND TRANS PITCHER’S FULL BATHROOM GAME
Former Minnesota high school softball player and current NCAA player Kendall Kotzmacher lost 3-2 to Champlin Park last season in what was her final high school game.
But Kozmacher’s younger sister, who lost to her in that game, is still set to play this season and could be on a collision course with the trans pitcher again.
“My little sister played with me last year. She still plays, so it’s very difficult,” 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 have to go through the things 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 last year again.”
Minnesota has faced its own internal conflict on the issue dating back to early 2025, when Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature rejected a bill that would have prevented biological males from competing in women’s sports.
State Republicans renewed that effort in recent weeks amid pushback from the Justice Department, but were once again unsuccessful due to Democratic control, failing to push a bill through 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, they lose roster spots, they lose college scholarships, and they lose their security.”
Democratic state Rep. Kelly Moller dismissed concerns about the issue.
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“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle say they are bringing this forward 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 in 125 school districts across the state signed a letter calling on state leaders to fulfill Trump’s mandate to protect women’s sports.
