Over the weekend our friend Bill Shipley wrote about the “trans woman” pitcher who is powering the Champlin Park high school girls’ softball team to the state championship game tomorrow — Bloomington Jefferson versus Champlin Park. Marissa Rothenberger is the pitcher’s legal name. Bill anticipated Rothenberger’s impact on the tournament in the essay “How One Young Man Altered The Landscape of Girls’ High School Softball In Minnesota.”
As I observed here earlier this week in connection with the USA Powerlifting case that is pending in the Minnesota Supreme Court, reality has its claims. What is to be done? As Rothenberger powers Champlin Park through the tournament to the championship game, silence is to be maintained. That is what is to be done.
The Eagan Athletic Director sent this out to parents ahead of the game.
This is of course due to the strong arming from the Minnesota State High School League. Which is actively working to silence any opposition.
Eagan was shut out 5-0. https://t.co/6TEl3yiiuS pic.twitter.com/hu8cHWJqpL
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) June 4, 2025
OutKick has a good account of yesterday’s semi-final in which Champlin Park prevailed over White Bear Lake.
[W]hile Champlin Park celebrated its walk-off win, the scene in the White Bear Lake dugout was far different. Many of the girls were visibly emotional, some in tears, as the reality of the season-ending loss set in.
One player turned to her father and asked, “Why can’t you do something?”
No parents were willing to go on record, but OutKick spoke with two White Bear Lake dads in the stands who expressed deep frustration with the system that allowed their daughters to compete against a male athlete — namely, the Democrat politicians who prioritize ideology over fairness.
“You’re looking at a whole team of future Republicans,” one man said.
Another dad agreed, saying this might be an eye-opening experience for the parents: “They’re like, “Oh, they’re crushing my kid’s dreams? Maybe I made the wrong choices.”
Despite President Donald Trump’s executive order, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) allows student-athletes to compete in events consistent with their gender identity, regardless of biological sex. MSHSL said that the eligibility of transgender student-athletes is “determined by state law, through the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the Minnesota Constitution.”
Despite national governing bodies — like USA Softball and the NCAA — instituting female-only eligibility policies, such state-level laws create enforcement loopholes that leave parents and female athletes feeling helpless.
And today in North Mankato, Minn., that helplessness was written all over the faces of the White Bear Lake players.
As one girl walked off the field, her father met her behind the dugout. “That’s not fair,” she said.
“That’s Minnesota,” he replied.
As Bill Glahn likes to observe, Minnesota is producing more news than can be consumed locally. In addition to OutKick, the Rothenberger story has made it to Fox News and the Daily Mail. Making my case that the state of Minnesota would be better off without the Star Tribune, below is a peek at its version.
Ultra-woke voice-of-the-DFL-in-DC writes about Tim Walz’s support for biological males competing in women’s sports – without mentioning even a single issue critics of the practice cite in opposition. Buckle up! Just a few of the problems: 🧵 pic.twitter.com/WaWsvFdkyx
— MediaWatchMN (@MediaWatchMN) June 5, 2025
