Fairness in Girls’ Athletics

Introduction

Interscholastic sports have always been one of the most cherished aspects of school life. They celebrate teamwork, personal growth and healthy competition. They also exist within a carefully regulated structure: for most sports, separate divisions for boys and girls are meant to ensure that athletes compete on as even a playing field as possible. In Minnesota and across the country, however, this structure is being tested by questions of transgender participation. A national conversation has erupted over whether transgender women, people who were born male but identify and live as women, should compete in girls’ sports.

As a mother and former athlete, I believe we have a responsibility to preserve fairness and integrity in girls’ athletics. Biological sex determines physical advantages that directly affect competition outcomes, and ignoring these differences undermines the purpose of girls’ sports. Title IX was created to give girls equal opportunities to compete, not to erase them. Allowing biological males to compete in female divisions jeopardizes that progress and threatens the level playing field generations of women fought to secure.

Public Sentiment and Cultural Debate

Public opinion data show that most Americans favor maintaining sex‑based divisions. Views have changed over the time, with far more Americans now supporting restrictions on transgender athletes. In February 2025 the Pew Research Center surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. adults. It found that 66% favor or strongly favor requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their sex assigned at birth¹.

In May 2025, Gallup reports that 69% of U.S. adults believe transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth sex. Gallup also reports that support for allowing transgender women to compete with biological women has steadily declined from 34% in 2021 down to 24% in 2025².

Minnesota school board members across the state have voiced concerns as well. In October 2025 a large group of school board members signed a letter urging state officials to comply with a federal directive to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports, citing fairness and potential funding losses³. A response letter, signed by opposing board members, called on leaders to defend transgender students’ right to participate, pointing to the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The exchange illustrates a community wrestling with fairness and funding.

Biological Sex Differences and Athletic Performance

Those who argue that interscholastic sports should remain sex‑segregated often point to physiological differences between the sexes. A 2022 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health explains that male physiology provides superior athletic performance because testosterone during puberty increases muscle mass, strengthens bones and enhances cardiovascular function. These changes create performance gaps between the sexes, and estrogen therapy cannot fully reverse them⁴.

A 2025 study in the European Journal of Sport Science tracked nine transgender women distance runners and one swimmer who underwent gender‑affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) for an average of 31 months. Although their race times slowed by about 14.6 % and testosterone levels were reduced to female‑typical ranges, the athletes’ lean body mass and strength remained higher than those of biological women⁵.

A 2016 systematic review of transgender sports literature found that after one year of hormone therapy, transgender women experienced reductions in muscle mass and strength, but these measures remained significantly greater than those of biological women⁴. A 2021 analysis in Sports Medicine (noted in our earlier outline) reported that performance differences between males and females increase after puberty and average 10–50 % depending on the sport, especially those requiring muscle mass and explosive strength. It concluded that testosterone suppression reduces lean body mass by only about five percent⁴. In short, male puberty produces advantages that hormone therapy cannot fully erase.

Legal Landscape in Minnesota and the United States

Minnesota Law

Minnesota has some of the most expansive civil‑rights protections in the country for transgender individuals. The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in education, housing, employment and public accommodations. The Minnesota Attorney General’s “Transgender Rights in Schools” fact sheet notes that high schools cannot prevent a transgender student from using locker rooms that match their gender identity⁶.

The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), which governs high school athletics, adopted a bylaw in 2015 allowing students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity or gender expression. Under the policy, students seeking to play on teams aligned with their gender identity must provide statements from parents or guardians and health‑care professionals affirming the student’s sincerely held gender‑related identity⁷.

Federal Pressure and Litigation

In February 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing that schools receiving federal funds must ban transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. The EO argued that allowing transgender athletes violates Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison issued a response, explaining that the order was not law and Minnesota law still prevents educational institutions from separating transgender women from biological women⁶. Minnesota House Republicans introduced the “Preserving Girls’ Sports Act” (HF 12/HF 1233), which sought to require students to participate on teams matching their biological sex and to amend the MHRA. The bill advanced through committee but has since stalled⁸.

In September 2025 the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services issued a formal finding that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and MSHSL violated Title IX by allowing biological boys to compete in biological girls’ sports. The agencies demanded that Minnesota rescind its policies, adopt biology‑based definitions of sex, train all staff accordingly, and restore titles and records to biological female athletes within ten days⁹. Failure to comply, the letter warned, could lead to enforcement actions and loss of federal funding. We cannot ignore the seriousness of these challenges.

Models of Fair Competition

In October 2025, Star Tribune columnist Karen Tolkkinen wrote that transgender women should not compete in girls’ sports because male physiology confers advantages. She quoted Bemidji school board chair Dave Wall expressing concern that biological males could dominate female competitions, and she cited a 2023 peer‑reviewed paper concluding that male physiology underpins superior athletic performance and that women would not stand a chance without gender divisions¹⁰.

In 2022, British Triathlon banned transgender athletes from the female category in competitive events and created an open category for athletes aged 12 and older, regardless of sex or gender identity. The female category is reserved for athletes assigned female at birth, while the open category welcomes all athletes. This aims to preserve fairness in the female category while providing a competitive outlet for transgender athletes.

Next Steps

Navigating this complex and sensitive topic requires pragmatism. Below are several steps we can take that respect fairness in competition:

1. Enact Sex‑Based Divisions for Interscholastic Competition – Enforce biological girls’ and boys’ divisions in interscholastic sports, as mandated by the federal law and consistent with scientific research showing performance differences.

2. Create Open Categories – Advocate for the MSHSL to offer an open category or co‑ed events where any student, regardless of sex or gender identity, can participate in competitive athletics.

3. Explore Intramural Opportunities – Explore recreational programs not governed by MSHSL. These programs can be co-ed and serve as spaces for transgender students and others who may not wish to participate in competitive athletics.

4. Provide Mental‑Health and Safety Support – Recognize that transgender students often face unique mental‑health challenges from bullying and discrimination. Ensure that school are equipped to support all students.

In 1972, Title IX opened the door for generations of girls to step into their own power. My generation inherited a system that gave girls a more equal footing. It isn’t perfect, but it’s precious progress. Our responsibility now is to keep it stable while culture shifts at the speed of social media. Most Americans, by a wide margin, favor divisions based on biological sex, but how we get there matters too. We should be thoughtful and respectful, but we must restore fairness in sports for biologically female athletes.

Research

1. Pew Research Center. “Americans have grown more supportive of restrictions for trans people in recent years.” Pew Research Center, February 26, 2025

2. Megan Brennan. “Two-Thirds in U.S. Prefer Birth Sex on IDs, in Athletics.” Gallup News, June 10, 2025

3. MPR News. “School board members sign letter urging compliance with federal transgender athlete ban.” October 7, 2025

4. Alison K. Heather et al. “Transwomen Elite Athletes: Their Extra Percentage Relative to Female Physiology.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 15 (2022): 9103

5. Joanna Harper et al. “Longitudinal Performance Changes in Transgender Women Athletes Pre and Post Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy.” European Journal of Sport Science 25, no. 9 (2025): e70036

6. Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. “Transgender Rights in Schools: Frequently Asked Questions.” June 12, 2025

7. Minnesota State High School League. “Official Handbook: Bylaws and Policies.” Policy on transgender participation

8. Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services. “Legislation to bar transgender athletes from girls sports falls short of passage in House.” Session Daily, March 3, 2025

9. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Letter of Findings to the Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota State High School League,” September 30, 2025

10. Karen Tolkkinen. “Transgender athletes should not compete with girls, but everyone deserves a place to play.” Star Tribune, October 9, 2025

11. Sean Ingle. “British Triathlon creates ‘open’ category for transgender athletes to compete at all levels.” The Guardian, July 6, 2022