Appeals Court Won’t Block Minnesota Transgender Athlete Policy in Title IX Challenge

Transgender-identifying athletes will continue to be allowed to compete in girls K–12 sports in Minnesota after a federal appeals court declined to block the policy during an ongoing Title IX challenge.

The court ruled that the lawsuit was based on a type of claim that cannot be brought by private plaintiffs.

In a 3–0 decision, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a temporary injunction and said Title IX allows private lawsuits only for claims of intentional sex discrimination—not claims that a policy, while neutral on its face, has a discriminatory impact on female athletes.

“In the Title IX context, intentional sex discrimination occurs whenever a defendant treats persons less favorably ‘because’ of their sex,” the court stated. “Accordingly, we conclude that [the plaintiff] has not brought a claim of intentional discrimination based on inferences stemming from [the participation of Jane Doe, a transgender-identifying biological male] in girls’ softball.”

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond by publication time to an email seeking comment.

The lawsuit was brought by Female Athletes United (FAU), a nonprofit representing female athletes, with legal representation from Alliance Defending Freedom.

Alliance Defending Freedom filed an injunction in May 2025 to stop boys from playing on girls teams.

The case centered around a “Jane Doe,” whom the court described as “a biological male who has identified as a transgender girl since at least the age of ten.”

“Now a high-school senior, Doe captains a varsity girls’ softball team which competes in the Minnesota State High School League,” it said.

The Alliance Defending Freedom said it was disappointed with the ruling.

“FAU asks whether states like Minnesota MUST protect women’s sports,” Kristen Waggoner, president of the Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a post on X. “It’s the next vital step to protect fairness for all women. And the answer to its central question should be a resounding ‘YES.’

“Title IX was designed and passed to give women equal opportunities. Allowing men into women’s sports destroys those opportunities. But today, the 8th Circuit said that even if Minnesota’s policies violate Title IX, our female athlete clients cannot hold the state accountable—at least not now. We respectfully disagree.”

Waggoner noted that the lawsuit is not settled.

“This was only an initial ruling that did not resolve the case,” she said. “[Alliance Defending Freedom] is considering our options in the FAU case, and we also support the Trump administration’s recent Title IX lawsuit against Minnesota.”

Federal officials found in 2025 that Minnesota violated Title IX by allowing transgender-identifying athletes to compete in girls sports.

The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warned that Minnesota risked enforcement action if it did not bring its policies into compliance.

In March, the U.S. Justice Department sued the state of Minnesota over its transgender sports policy.