For many athletes, sport represents not only a game, but a place where they can contribute their skills, build community, and a source of confidence. Sports allow us to feel like our best selves and find camaraderie and partnership from our fellow competitors. There is freedom and liberation in being able to showcase your strengths and find joy in competing for a shared goal.

 

M, a parent of a trans daughter in the Western suburbs who played Ultimate Frisbee and was on her Nordic Skiing team, describes her daughter’s experience as a trans athlete as a “lifeline.”

 

“She was neither a star athlete nor seeking to break records—but she was dedicated, enthusiastic, and a beloved part of her teams. Her coaches and teammates recognized her for the joy and encouragement she brought, giving her the honor of carrying the team flag to games, winning spirit awards and becoming a captain. Despite the challenges she faced, an early suicide attempt, and a school environment where bullying forced her to finish senior year online, her teams were one of the only places she found refuge and connection. Sports gave her a community to be a part of, one that not only stood by her, but celebrated her when she needed it most.

 

The feeling of seeing so many kids and parents cheering for my daughter, who struggled so hard to find herself, and knowing we weren't the only ones in her corner anymore underscored the pride, belonging, and support that come from being part of a team.

 

Sports taught her the value of physical activity and how it can intertwine so positively with mental health. These lessons learned continue to shape her life. Because of her past positive experience,  this year in college, she joined a club sport right away, made close friends through that activity, and found a community that has eased her transition into adulthood. Being able to participate in high school sports wasn’t just a short-term benefit—it set her up for a lifetime of positive experiences and healthy habits. I don't want to imagine how different her life might look if she had been told “no.””

 

Stories like this remind us that sports are about more than competition, they are about community and belonging. They teach teamwork, discipline, and resilience. They give young people a place to grow, to feel valued, and to build lasting relationships. For many trans athletes, sports aren’t just an extracurricular activity; they’re a source of survival, confidence, and connection.

 

Yet, instead of strengthening women’s sports, Republican lawmakers are using trans athletes and the greater transgender community as a political battleground, in both our local state legislature and federal Congress.

 

Here in Minnesota, House Republicans are pushing aggressively to pass HF12, “restricting female sports team participation to the female sex”. This bill would specifically ban transgender girls in elementary and secondary schools from competing with other girls. The moving of this bill through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has rightfully seen pushback from 2SLGBTQIA+ community members and affiliated organizations, who argue that this bill is flagrantly discriminatory and that politicians have no business interfering with the lives of these children who just want to play sports with their peers.  

 

This bill uses language directly from the right wing think-tank, and authors of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation; attempting to define the definitions of women and girls, specifically to exclude members of the transgender community. This is a bill of exclusion and discrimination, not participation and fairness. 

 

It is important to note, this bill as any bill in the senate would require bipartisan support to pass, and that is unlikely to happen. On March 3rd, HF12 failed on a vote on the House floor to pass the bill to the Senate. The bill was one short of passing to the Senate and can be voted again following March’s special election in which control of the house will be determined. Democrats in the Senate have been forthright about their support for the transgender community affected by this potential law and Governor Walz would assuredly not sign such a bill if it got to his desk.

 

What we’re seeing here at the state level is reflective of the Republican agenda nationally. In early January US Congressional House Republicans, in their first vote of the 2025 legislative session, made it clear that they are not planning on backing down from their set agenda of targeting trans peoples’ access to public life. HR 28, also known as the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” was passed by the House mostly along party lines. Contrary to the name of the bill, it is not about protection but rather of discrimination and exclusion. The aim of this bill is to amend Title IX discrimination policy in publicly funded schools to prohibit trans women and girls from participating in sports alongside their peers.

 

March 3, 2025 ended up being a really important day for trans sports, as following the defeat of HF12 on the Minnesota House floor, HR28’s Senate companion bill (S9) was scheduled on the Congressional floor. This bill was introduced but failed to get the votes needed to bring for a full vote on the Senate floor thanks to Senate Democrats being stalwart and unanimous in their opposition of the bill - filibustering the bill and preventing it from being brought to a vote.

These proposed bans, which are reminiscent of similar bans on trans competitors that have passed in other state legislatures over the past few years, have real, harmful impacts on the lives of young trans people and athletes. 

If passed, Minnesota student athletes could feel the harmful impact of these pieces of legislation. The MN State House bill, HF12, would impact student athletes in secondary and elementary school, affecting children across the state. The federal bill is set to change Title IX discrimination policies which govern college athletic programs, and could impact the federal funding of educational institutions if they are found in violation of these new rules. It would also set a very dangerous precedent nationally, as it would further reinforce the definition of sex as being solely defined by “a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,”  echoing the rhetoric of Trump’s numerous anti-trans executive orders, and enshrining this rhetoric into law.

 

While these bills do pose a significant risk to Minnesota’s student athletes, Minnesota has specific protections against discrimination based on gender identity. These protections are not at risk of being overridden by either piece of proposed legislation. The Minnesota Human Rights Act makes clear that transgender community members are protected from discrimination, including in participation in sports, and any sort of exclusion of trans athletes in school athletic programs would trigger lawsuits. 

 

Transgender athletes, from grade school to college, are all potentially affected by these bans, and more so are targeted and harassed by those who are buying into the hateful rhetoric these bills are being born out of.  Now more than ever, is the time to stand with our trans friends, neighbors and family.

 

R, another parent in Minnesota’s Western suburbs, describes her daughter’s relationship to her sport:

 

“Today, volleyball is her passion. It’s where she finds joy, builds friendships, and feels like she truly belongs.  

Participating in sports has helped her feel like the girl that she is. It’s made her stronger — both physically and emotionally — and has given her a place where she can thrive. Sports have been her outlet, her community, and a source of pride. 

 

We also need to recognize that biology is complex. There are athletes like Caster Semenya, a South African runner who was assigned female at birth and raised as a girl. She competed in women’s sports for years before learning through testing that she has XY chromosomes. This was a surprise to her and her family, but despite her upbringing and identity as a woman, she faced bans and restrictions simply because her body didn’t fit society’s narrow definitions of sex and gender.
 

What my daughter brings to the court isn’t a physical advantage — it’s her dedication, her heart, and her love of the game.”

 

Policies that police who "counts" as a woman in sports open the door to invasive scrutiny of all women athletes, particularly women of color and cis women who don’t fit rigid, outdated gender norms. No athlete should have to prove their womanhood just to step onto the field. Instead of dividing teams and communities, we should be working to build a culture of mutual respect, support, and excellence, where every athlete is valued for their dedication and talent.

 

All of this harm is being justified under the guise of targeting unfair competitive advantages, an assertion made by Republican lawmakers that is scientifically untrue and not supported by the real life experiences of trans athletes. The science is clear, transgender women do not have any biological advantages in sports due to their transness, regardless of their experience with puberty or the gender affirming care that they receive. Scientific reviews confirm this, and state plainly that “[these bans are] made within transmisogynist, misogynoir, racist, geopolitical cultural norms.” These bans invite undue scrutiny to trans women, black women and those who do not conform to the right’s idea of what women and girls should look like. Instead of allowing us to celebrate all of our student athletes and the wonderful differences all of our bodies allow for, Republicans want us to be fearful and castigate each other. This does not protect women’s sports, it fractures it at its core. 

 

R, continued, 

 

“If a sports ban were put into place, it would break her heart. It would send a message that her hard work, her passion, and her identity don’t matter. But they do matter. She’s a beloved teammate and a hard-working athlete. Her participation makes her stronger and more confident — and it makes her team stronger, too.      

 

Being part of a sport isn’t just about playing a game. It’s about belonging, growing, and becoming who you are meant to be. I hope sharing her story helps others understand that these bans don’t just take away opportunities — they take away hope, joy, and belonging from kids who deserve to be seen and supported.”

Inclusion isn’t a threat to sports, it’s the key to their future. 

As a trans athlete myself, I can attest that we love to play sports. Some of us are good, some of us are mediocre. We love to compete. We love the comradery and community that comes with playing sports. More than that, it is about being able to participate in the things that we love, it is at a basic level: human. Trans athletes, like our cisgender counterparts, want to be able to fine-tune and utilize our natural skillsets with our friends and teammates. By standing up for trans athletes, we are standing up for all athletes, ensuring that the values of teamwork, fairness, and belonging remain at the heart of the game.

True support for women’s sports means making them stronger, more inclusive, and more accessible. These bans are not about fairness; they are about control, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, and deciding who does and does not belong. They don’t just hurt trans athletes, they undermine the integrity of sports as a whole.

 

If we want to better support the athletes and student athletes in our lives, we must continue to make sure all women and girls are able to play with each other. Inclusion makes all of us stronger, more connected and ensures our teammates are not isolated and othered for the sake of political games. 

Banning trans athletes does not protect sports; it undermines them. Real fairness in sports means ensuring every player is treated with dignity and respect, rather than being subjected to harmful scrutiny or exclusion. Parents, coaches, and teammates alike benefit from policies that focus on participation, skill-building, and community rather than gatekeeping and fear.

LW, a trans student-athlete from Southern Minnesota, shares how these benefits affect her life:

“Sports have always played a significant role in my life. I've always enjoyed participating in them and pushing myself to do the best I can. From rock climbing or mountain biking to cross country or snowboarding, this aspiration to do my best has led me to join a multitude of different activities. Participating in all these activities has given me places where I can feel like me and that I am accepted. Feeling that I belong has been a crucial aspect in the support of my mental health, and a team or community is huge in providing a space of belonging. Being treated as me in these spaces gives that feeling of community more than anything else. Being on the correct team is a valuable part of that. Being on a team that aligns with my gender identity gives acceptance and makes me feel like just that, me. 

This is something that is extremely important to me, being on the wrong team can often spoil the activity entirely. Sports have been a source of joy for me and an important part of my mental health. They provide a space to feel valued, supported, and truly myself. Being part of the right team enhances this sense of belonging and allows me to thrive. This connection between sports, community, and self-acceptance is something I value greatly.“

At the end of the day, sports are about more than just competition— they are about belonging. The strongest teams are those that uplift every player, and celebrate each other’s strengths and successes. By fighting for inclusion, we are not just preventing harm, we are actively creating a better future for all athletes, where every young person, regardless of gender identity, can experience the joy, camaraderie, and life lessons that sports have to offer.

We have the power to stop these bills, but we must act now!

These bills are part of the bigger movement to attack trans people, and exclude us from the basic aspects of public life that we all participate in. This movement wants to ban us from sports, ban us from using the bathroom, and ban us from being able to travel freely. However, they do not have the political power alone to do this outright, we can still stop them. In Minnesota, the fight is here in sports; because in other states it has already progressed much further. Let us cede no ground.

 

As of now both bills have failed to progress further into law. We need to ensure that our representatives, at both the state and federal level, feel supported in standing opposed to these discriminatory measures.

To ensure we stop Minnesota bill HF12, we have to contact our state senators and state representatives, and urge them to continue to oppose this bill that excludes trans children from competing with their peers. Share your stories, about what sports have meant to you, or your children, and what it would mean if a politician forcibly took the sport away. Talk to them about the transgender people in your life, and how discrimination and harassment continue to affect them. We can hold our ground, and ensure this hate does not become law here in Minnesota.

 

The federal sports ban has been defeated, but we need to ensure that Congressional Democrats continue to actively support trans inclusion and protections. That work begins with contacting both Minnesota Senators and applaud that Senate Democrats are standing together to filibuster this bill - S9. While thanking them for their support, express to them that Minnesota has to remain a leader  Every call, email and personal story makes a difference. We can make it clear that Minnesotans overwhelmingly support inclusion and fairness for all of our athletes.

 

As Communications Coordinator at Outfront Minnesota, and a leading transgender advocate for anti-discriminatory policies in the state, I have seen firsthand how these harmful policies impact trans youth and the broader queer community of Minnesota. Outfront has been at the forefront of advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights in our state, fighting for policies that protect trans people, and ensuring that Minnesota remains a place where everyone belongs. We are here to provide you with the tools and resources to take action directly.

 

Whether you’re a parent, an athlete, a coach, a student or an ally; your voice matters, your stories matter. Let’s stand together to ensure that trans athletes are welcomed, supported and celebrated - not sidelined.

 

Now is the time to step up. Be the person who makes sure that the trans people in your life and here in Minnesota feel valued, included and protected.