Minnesota softball player and parent express outrage as trans pitcher dominates playoffs

CHAMPLIN, MINNESOTA: Minnesota’s high school softball postseason is mired in controversy.

At the center of it is a transgender pitcher at Champlin Park High School who’s leading their team to the state tournament. The athlete pitched a shutout in the sectional final on Thursday, May 29, sealing Champlin Park’s trip to the big dance.

But not everyone’s cheering.

Transgender athlete’s dominance sparks lawsuit from opposing players

Three anonymous female softball players are now suing the state, arguing that letting a transgender athlete compete in girls' softball is not just unfair, but dangerous. The case is being led by the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which released a statement from one of the athletes, Fox News reported.

“Hitting against him is not only a physical challenge but a mental one, too,” the player said. “It’s a mental battle knowing that he has an advantage in the sport that I grew up playing, making it hard to even want to hit against him.”

She continued, “His ability to get outs and spin the ball is a strong advantage, but like I said, it’s also incredibly mentally challenging knowing that you’re competing against someone who has unfair advantages, leaving you with little to no confidence.”

"This issue has affected me in ways that I never imagined. It’s simply unfair, and I hate that nothing is happening to change that. Boys should not be able to take girls' spots on teams just because they are capable of doing so. I hope that more girls affected by this issue will stand up against this," the anonymous player lamented.

AG Keith Ellison sued for defending trans inclusion

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is under fire after aggressively defending the right of trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports—even filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the DOJ over the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order.

The same anonymous player had plenty to say about Ellison’s actions.

“It’s really upsetting to know that [Ellison] isn’t taking rights of girls and women seriously,” she said. “He is allowing boys to compete with girls, and it is not safe and completely unfair. To know that AG Ellison is in complete support of letting boys and men take advantage of females in sports is absolutely disgusting and wrong.”

Ellison made headlines at a press conference in April, revealing that the DOJ had threatened legal action if Minnesota didn’t comply with the federal order, so he decided to strike first.

Harrison Fields, a spokesperson for the Trump administration, slammed Ellison. “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," he said.

Parent sounds the alarm on safety

Garret Gross, the father of one of the players who faced Champlin Park’s trans pitcher, delivered a chilling warning during an appearance on OutKick's 'The Ricky Cobb Show'.

“It really comes down to cowardice leadership at the local, state, and federal level,” Gross said. “Softball is different, man, I’m telling you, these girls are strong, these girls are tough, but they’re different than boys.”

“At the highest levels, that ball is coming in 70-plus miles an hour from the pitcher’s circle, which is only 43 feet away, and it’s coming off that bat 80–85 miles an hour, and it’s not a question of if or when there will be a catastrophic injury or death that occurs because of this imbalance," he explained. "The only question really is, how old will the girl be that’s killed, and what will her name be?”

Gross said it may take a tragedy to jolt the public into action. "That's a strong statement, but that's where it's going to get to and that's going to be really the only thing that's going to make the public wake up here, and the question to all the apathetic people on the sidelines, why are you keeping quiet when we know this is going to happen?" he asked.

School stands by athlete as state lawmakers fail to act

Champlin Park’s school district, meanwhile, isn’t budging. In a statement to Fox News, the Anoka-Hennepin School District backed the team’s roster.

“Throughout the entire season, and as the Rebels advance to the state tournament, it is important to note that all of the student athletes participating for the Champlin Park Softball team are eligible to compete in compliance with Minnesota State High School League rules and applicable state law,” the district said.

“Due to data privacy laws, the District is not able to provide public comment regarding a specific student athlete,” the statement continued. “In addition, the District is named in an active lawsuit, which limits what information can be shared.”

State lawmakers had the chance to intervene earlier this year—but didn’t. In March, Minnesota’s legislature failed to pass the Preserving Girls’ Sports Act, which would have declared that “only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls.”