Trump admin refers Minnesota to DOJ for allowing transgender athletes to compete in girl sports

The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services referred the state of Minnesota on Monday to the Justice Department for allegedly allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports and occupy female facilities.

The departments found the state's Department of Education and Minnesota State High School League were in violation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in programs that receive federal funds, in September by allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports. 

“Minnesota is violating Title IX, and we will not look the other way,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “When states allow males to compete in girls’ sports, they deny young women and girls the protections the law guarantees. After Minnesota refused to comply, we referred this case to the Department of Justice for enforcement.”

According to the federal agencies, athletes that were born male have been allowed to compete on the girls’ Alpine ski team, Nordic skiing team, lacrosse team, track and field team, volleyball team, and fastpitch softball team.

The Trump administration said the referral comes after it offered MDE and MSHSL a proposed Resolution Agreement to voluntarily resolve their Title IX violations, which Minnesota has not responded to.

“Despite repeated opportunities to comply with Title IX, Minnesota has chosen defiance – continuing to jeopardize the safety of women and girls, deny them fair competition, and erode their right to equal access in educational programs and activities,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. 

“As Minnesota reels from a massive fraud scandal exposing Governor Tim Walz’s dereliction of duty, today’s referral to DOJ underscores the state's ongoing failure to safeguard its citizens and uphold the rule of law," she added.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.