Marissa Rothenberger is the latest transgender athlete who is catching major backlash for playing against girls.
The transgender Minnesota high school softball player, who reportedly switched genders at nine years old, has been fanning opponents during her junior prep season.
That continued this week.
The now-17-year-old is a pitcher for Champlin Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota, which is located about 15 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
Rothenberger plays against girls and dominates them amid the ongoing debate about biological males competing in women’s sports.
Marissa Rothenberger, born Charlie Dean, is arguably the top high school softball pitcher in the state, touting a 0.94 ERA and 0.60 WHIP on the season, powered by 71 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched.
This week, he carried his high school team to a Class 4A Softball Championship, pitching 14 shutout innings in back-to-back games to defeat the defending state champs. The team advanced to the Class 4A state tournament for the first time in program history.
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Last night, a man single-handedly carried his high school in Minnesota to a Class 4A Softball Championship.
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 30, 2025
He pitched 14 shutout innings in back-to-back games to defeat the defending state champs.
14. Shutout. Innings.
You are a shameful, sorry excuse for a man, @GovTimWalz pic.twitter.com/MGmBRPXdb7
Not everybody is happy about it.
High School Softball Girls File Lawsuit Over Marissa Rothenberger
Marissa Rothenberger, a biological male who identifies as trans and plays high school softball in Minnesota, has been thrust into the spotlight for obvious reasons.
During Rothenberger’s sophomore year, the transgender athlete led Champlin Park to 14 consecutive victories, which took them into the state playoffs. The team is only better this year.
Many people have had enough.
Three female high school softball players are fighting back against the state of Minnesota for forcing them to play against transgender softball players who are biologically male.
In a lawsuit filed last week, Female Athletes United (FAU) vs. Attorney General Keith Ellison + the MSHSL and three different school districts (No. 11—Anoka/Hennepin County, 192—Farmington and 279—Osseo), the three girls state that Marissa Rothenburger’s participation for Champlin Park the past two seasons is in violation of their “equal treatment and equal opportunities guaranteed by Title IX.”
Per Yahoo:
(Case No. 0:25-cv-2151 – Female Athletes United v. Minnesota)
As a result of the state’s discriminatory policy, males are displacing and defeating females in their own sports, violating the equal treatment and equal opportunities guaranteed by Title IX.
FAU is an organization that advocates to protect fairness, safety, and equal opportunity for women and girls in sports. FAU members include Minnesota high school softball players who have been forced to compete against a male athlete. The softball team with the male athlete recently defeated last year’s defending state champion team.
“Minnesota is failing its female athletes. The state is putting the rights of males ahead of females, telling girls their hard work may never be enough to win and that they don’t deserve fairness and safety,” said ADF Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher. “By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX’s provisions. Our client, Female Athletes United, is right to stand up for its members by challenging the state’s discriminatory policy and advocate for true equality in sports.”
