Minnesota high school sports leaders 'reviewing' Trump administration transgender policy threat

Joe Christensen, Star Tribune on Oct 2, 2025

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Leaders of the organization that oversees high school sports in Minnesota gave no indication Thursday of how they plan to respond to a looming threat by the Trump administration to withhold federal education aid if the state does not repeal its policy allowing transgender girls to compete in female sports.

“I would say, really directly, we’re in receipt of their information, and right now, our legal counsel is reviewing all aspects of it,” Erich Martens, the executive director of the Minnesota State High School League, said Thursday during a board meeting at its Brooklyn Park headquarters. “And additional information is yet to be determined.”

The MSHSL received a letter Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Education stating the nonprofit violated Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, with its standing bylaw allowing transgender girls to compete in female sports.

Since February, the MSHSL has been under investigation by the federal government over its bylaw after President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring transgender athletes ineligible to play girls sports this year. In 2015, the MSHSL’s board of directors voted to open girls sports to transgender student-athletes.

MSHSL legal counsel Kevin Beck confirmed the league received the letter Tuesday and declined further comment. MSHSL lobbyist Roger Aronson referred a media request to Martens.

Martens also had no further comment.

On Tuesday, the Department of Education stated schools operating interscholastic athletic programs in Minnesota not in compliance with the new federal policy would lose federal funding. The Minnesota Department of Education and MSHSL were given 10 days to resolve their Title IX violations.

Teddy Tschann, a spokesman for Gov. Tim Walz, said they wouldn’t “entertain questions” about the threat, arguing the “Trump administration can’t even keep the lights on.”

The executive order signed by Trump in February gave schools and athletic organizations 60 days to reconstruct a policy to proceed. The MSHSL responded to Trump’s executive order by saying it would review its policy, but it was kept in place. In April, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued the Trump administration over the executive orders that Ellison said amount to “bullying” of trans children.

Elk River school board member Mindy Freiberg wanted to address the MSHSL on Thursday but didn’t contact the board in advance. She gave Martens a written letter, which he planned to circulate.

In her letter, she wrote, in part: “Your current transgender policy strips girls of fairness, safety and the very opportunities Title IX was created to guarantee. Women’s sports exist to give women a level playing field. You are erasing that … It’s your duty to fix this — and to fix it now.”

In other actions Thursday, the MSHSL expanded its girls wrestling tournament and approved a plan to allow Minnesota’s high school baseball and softball teams to play 24 regular-season games, up from 20.

By expanding girls wrestling from four sections to eight sections, with two state qualifiers in each weight class, the number of state girls wrestling participants will grow from eight to 16.

The MSHSL held its first state girls wrestling state tournament in 2022.

With baseball and softball, coaches can now schedule in-season tournaments, with doubleheaders counting as one playing date instead of two. Teams can have a maximum of two in-season tournaments.

Looking at neighboring states, Iowa high school softball and baseball teams play 40 regular-season games, North Dakota 36, Illinois 35 and Wisconsin 26.

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(Ryan Faircloth of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)

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