ST. PAUL, MN – Minnesota House Republicans are leading the fight to protect fairness and safety in women’s sports. The Preserving Girls' Sports Act, or HF 12, would ensure that only biological females compete in girls’ sports, preserving the integrity of competition and defending decades of progress in women’s athletics.
“This isn’t complicated. Girls deserve their own sports, their own locker rooms, their own records, and their own championships,” Representative Robbins said. “Biology matters. No amount of political spin changes the fact that males have clear physical advantages that make competition unfair and put girls at risk.”
Across the country, female athletes have lost championship titles, scholarship opportunities, and roster spots to biological males—erasing the hard-won gains of Title IX and years of progress for women’s sports. The data is clear: even after hormone treatments, male athletes maintain stronger bones, greater muscle mass, and higher lung capacity, giving them an undeniable edge over female competitors.
Robbins emphasized that state law already has robust protection for girls’ sports while also protecting gender identity as a status. A school cannot ban a trans student from playing sports because of their gender identity, but they can require that sports teams be based on biological sex. Indeed, Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.04, subdivision 3, states:
“Notwithstanding any other state law to the contrary, in athletic programs operated by educational institutions or public services and designed for participants 12 years or older or in the 7th grade or above, it is not an unfair discriminatory practice to restrict membership on an athletic team to participants of one sex whose overall athletic opportunities have previously been limited.”
Minnesotans overwhelmingly support protecting girls’ sports, with majority polling across party lines showing that parents, coaches, and female athletes want fairness restored. Indeed, 80% of all Americans, including 67% of Democrats, agree that men should not be in women’s sports.
“This bill sends a clear message: Minnesota will stand up for protecting girls and girls’ sports. This is about equality for girls, safety, and protecting the future of women’s sports,” Robbins said.
All 67 Republicans voted for the bill, while all 66 Democrats voted against protecting women’s sports. The bill was tabled in hopes the House can address this important issue again before the end of session in May.
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