Gender Justice applauds AG’s lawsuit against the Trump administration for baseless attack on trans athletes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2025

CONTACT
Noah Parrish, Communications Director
[email protected]
651.432.0171

Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against President Trump and Attorney General Bondi in response to the administration’s ongoing threats to withhold federal funding from Minnesota schools that refuse to discriminate against transgender students in sports. This action comes in defense of Minnesota’s long-standing commitment to equality under state law.

Under both the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) and the Minnesota Constitution, discrimination against transgender students in all aspects of school life —including sports—is prohibited. These protections have been in place since 1993, making Minnesota the first state to expressly codify such rights.

Jess Braverman, legal director at Gender Justice, issued the following statement:
“The law is clear: discrimination against trans students is illegal in Minnesota. We cannot allow the federal government to continue to bully trans students by threatening to withhold federal funding from schools that refuse to discriminate against trans kids. We applaud Attorney General Ellison for fighting for the dignity and inclusion of all students.

The Minnesota High School League has had trans inclusive policies in place for a decade, and during that time Minnesota has been a national leader in girls’ participation rates in school sports. If the administration really cared about girls’ sports, they would increase funding across the board and focus their investigations on jurisdictions with low rates of girls’ participation. We join Attorney General Ellison in standing up to bullying and discrimination.”