A federal judge has declined to block a Minnesota policy that allows male students who identify as female to participate in girls’ high school sports teams.
A female athlete advocacy group had challenged the rule, saying it violated girls’ and women’s rights under federal anti-discrimination law.
In a Sept. 19 opinion, U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud denied a request by Female Athletes United (FAU) for a preliminary injunction against the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and state officials.
While the judge held that FAU has standing to sue, he found the group had not shown it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that allowing “transgender females” to play in girls’ and women’s sports violates Title IX, the federal statute that bars sex-based discrimination in education….