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EXCLUSIVE: A transgender softball pitcher in Minnesota sent shock waves throughout the nation after leading Champlin Park High School to a state championship on Friday.
The trans athlete’s participation in the girls’ softball season was in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, and is the focus of a lawsuit filed by three anonymous female players.
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Champlin Park celebrates winning the state championship while Bloomington Jefferson watches. (Amber Harding)
The White House responded to news of the trans athlete’s championship in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
“President Trump is protecting women in sports and restoring common sense. Those who choose to violate federal law will be held accountable,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in response to an inquiry on the situation in Minnesota.
Minnesota is currently under a federal investigation for potential Title IX violations for refusing to comply with Trump’s executive order. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Trump’s administration in April in an effort to protect its current gender eligibility policies.
The state also failed to pass a bill that would have barred biological males from girls’ and women’s sports in early March after Democrats in the state’s legislature voted against it.
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Marissa Rothenberger celebrates in the dugout with teammates after Champlin Park’s dramatic win. (Amber Harding)
This allowed the trans pitcher, junior Marissa Rothenberger, to have a dominant playoff run for Champlin Park.
Rothenberger threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out six in the championship game Friday, capping off a run that saw Rothenberger pitch all 21 innings across three state tournament games, giving up just two runs.
The junior allowed just two runs across 35 total innings in the postseason.
Then, after conservative influencer and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines shared news of Rothenberger’s victory on X on Friday, it sparked a widely publicized feud with Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.
Biles responded to a post in which Gaines pointed out that the Minnesota State High School League disabled comments on its post announcing Champlin Park’s softball team as state champions, calling Gaines “truly sick.”
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The feud has sparked widespread backlash against Biles, including by Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.
The White House has previously addressed Ellison’s lawsuit against Trump’s administration in a statement to Fox News Digital, as well.
“Why would a grown man sue the Trump administration to allow other biological males to participate in women’s sports? This is creepy and anti-woman,” Fields said in April.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mocked former President Trump’s age during a Tuesday evening rally in Georgia. (Getty Images)
A New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.
Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democratic, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
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