New rules opening up Minnesota high school girls' sports teams to transgender student-athletes is coming under fire for leaving the state vulnerable to a barrage of lawsuits that will test the limits
— and safety
— of the controversial policy.
The firestorm follows a decision Thursday by the Minnesota State High School League to allow males who identify as females to compete on girls' teams. State law already permits girls to compete in boys’ sports,
the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.
Religious-affiliated private schools will be exempt. The policy goes into effect in the 2015-16 school year.
"It virtually guarantees that any school denying a boy the right to compete as a girl will face a lawsuit," lawyer John Hagen complains in a
column for the newspaper.
"Imagine the following scenario. An adolescent counterpart of Clay Matthews [the very long-haired, very burly linebacker for the Green Bay Packers] comes before your school board. He declares: 'I always have had a feminine self-image. I never told anyone, because of society’s expectations, but I’m revealing it now. My long hair is evidence of my sincerity and my feminine self-expression.'
"The High School League’s pending policy would compel the school to let this boy play power forward on the girls’ basketball team, regardless of safety considerations."
The Minnesota Child Protection League has
long-fought the proposal, which has been under consideration for months, taking out a full-page ad in the Star-Tribune questioning if it would cause "the end of girls’ sports." The ad was also presented on the
group's website.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.