There Ya Go
I’ve been around long enough to mostly steer clear of political issues in my columns — those that divide us as a state and a country. But there are times when I will put myself out there when decisions are made and votes cast that get under my skin to the point where I can’t hold my tongue.
This is one of those times. Not everyone who reads this will agree with me, and that’s perfectly fine, because we live in a country where we can all not only have, but share, our opinions openly. (By the way, I’m not asking you to agree with me).
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Oct. 22 ruled that biological males have the right to compete in female athletics, a decision District 15A Republican Rep. Chris Swedzinski says threatens the safety of girls and undermines fair play.
I don’t agree with Swedzinski on everything, but I do here.
This is ridiculous. This is potentially damaging in many ways.
House Republicans introduced a pair of bills earlier this year to provide clear protections for female athletes and ensure fairness in competition, but House Democrats blocked them from passing.
The Preserving Girls Sports Act (H.F. 12) specifically states that only female students may participate in school sports restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls.
Swedzinski said polls show about 80% of people agree with the bill’s position.
“Our State is hurting our girls’ ability to compete safely and on a level playing field,” Swedzinski said in a news release. “Common sense and the public majority say biological males shouldn’t be in girls’ sports. This court ruling raises serious issues of fairness and safety and highlights just how important it is we clarify state law to stop this from happening.”
Swedzinski said a quick internet search turns up a plethora of stories where girls competing against biological males in women’s sports have been hurt, including everything from concussions to losing teeth. And a United Nations report found that female athletes around the world have lost almost 900 medals to transgender men competing in their events.
House Republicans last March sought to pass the Preserving Girls Sports Act, and House Democrats blocked the move. They tabled the bill after Democrats voted against it, keeping the legislation available for consideration in the 2026 session – along with the similarly-themed H.F. 1233.
In the meantime, the door remains open for biological males to continue participating in girls’ sports — as confirmed by the Supreme Court. Its ruling last week was in Cooper v. USA Powerlifting, where it found that USA Powerlifting discriminated against a transgender athlete by banning her from women’s events under the Human Rights Act. However, the court sent the case back to a lower court to decide if a “competitive fairness” defense could be a valid exception.
A couple paragraphs back in this column, it says female athletes have lost nearly 900 medals to transgender men who competed in their events. But I don’t even care about that. To me, this isn’t about winning or losing. I know we prioritize sports absolutes in this country — the whole, “If you’re not first, you last” mantra — but this is about much more than a win or a loss, or a medal or a championship.
This is about a fair playing field and keeping kids safe. If a person is born a male, I don’t care how many surgeries he might have to transform into a female — he’s still a boy biologically. He still has more upper body strength than a girl does. This will never change. A boy has a right to identify as a girl, but, sorry, he’s still a boy. He came out of the womb a boy, at least physically, and last time I checked, most sports are based on physicality.
This is a political issue — what isn’t these days — and elected officials are once again calling the shots. In this case, Democrats in Minnesota have essentially taken what used to be a level playing field and dug a great big hole in it.
