OAKLAND, Calif. — The California Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief opposing legal challenges to Minnesota policies that allow transgender students to participate in youth sports consistent with their gender identity, arguing the policies are lawful, evidence-based and beneficial to all students.
The brief, submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Female Athletes United v. Ellison, supports Minnesota’s approach and urges the court to reject claims that transgender-inclusive sports policies violate Title IX.
The attorneys general focus on “Minnesota’s policies allowing transgender students to participate in youth sports in a manner consistent with their gender identity,” arguing that such policies comply with federal law, improve mental and physical health outcomes for transgender youth and foster safer, more inclusive school environments.
In the brief, the coalition writes that “policies and practices that facilitate inclusive school environments for transgender students — including policies permitting young people to participate in the single-sex sports teams at their schools consistent with their gender identity — promote inclusive school environments and communities that benefit all,” citing extensive research and state experience .
Attorney General Bonta emphasized that state laws like Minnesota’s protect transgender youth and allow them to thrive as their authentic selves. “Female Athletes United is attempting to use a misinterpretation of Title IX to justify discrimination against transgender youth,” Bonta said. “We will continue to fight against unlawful attacks on transgender and other LGBTQ+ individuals’ rights whenever and wherever they occur.”
Female Athletes United filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on May 19, 2025, requesting a preliminary injunction against the Minnesota attorney general and other state officials, according to the state’s press release.
The group alleged that Minnesota’s statewide policy allowing transgender students to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The district court denied the request for a preliminary injunction in September.
Female Athletes United subsequently appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
In the amicus brief, the coalition argues that transgender youth face “pervasive and harmful discrimination” that results in “serious health consequences and adverse educational outcomes,” and that exclusionary policies compound those harms rather than remedy them .
The states further argue that their real-world experience shows that transgender-inclusive athletic policies “do not compromise fairness or reduce opportunities for cisgender students,” noting that inclusive policies have been in place for years in many states without evidence of displacement or competitive harm .
The brief also asserts that categorical bans on transgender participation in sports are not required by federal law, stating that “at a minimum, federal law should preserve States’ sovereign authority to adopt and enforce inclusive laws and policies in their own jurisdictions” .
Bonta previously joined a multistate amicus brief supporting transgender students’ challenges to West Virginia and Idaho laws that bar transgender girls from participating in sex-separated sports consistent with their gender identity, the press release stated. In multiple cases, Bonta has demonstrated his commitment to protecting the rights of transgender youth to live as authentically as possible.
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“STATES ARGUE IN FAVOR OF TRANSGENDER STUDENTS’ RIGHTS IN SPORTS POLICY DISPUTE”
Actually the title could just as easily read:
STATES ARGUE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL FEMALE STUDENT’S RIGHTS IN SPORTS POLICY DISPUTE
Calling people ‘biological females’ is offensive because it reduces women to anatomy, oversimplifies complex biology, and is commonly used to exclude or delegitimize transgender people rather than to add clarity
So are you okay with outcomes like I cited below of men who identify as a women dominating women’s sports?
“A transgender high school basketball player has sparked fury this week after nearly outscoring an entire opposing girls’ team in California.
Henry Hanlon, who is a biological male, was on hand with a whopping 29 points in San Francisco Waldorf’s 59-33 women’s basketball win over Jewish Community High School on Tuesday night.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-14292603/transgender-high-school-basketball-henry-hanlon-san-francisco-waldorf.html
Stop right there. You used offensive language. You like to play this little game where you try to be as offensive as possible while still being able to get your comment posted and then when people call you on it, you shift topics suddenly and avoid addressing the issue that was originally responded to.
“Calling people ‘biological females’ is offensive because it reduces women to anatomy, oversimplifies complex biology, and is commonly used to exclude or delegitimize transgender people rather than to add clarity.”
Most people (including those who support transgenderism) STILL refer to women and men in reference to their anatomy, which has a direct impact on outward appearance. (The same reason that strangers feel comfortable in calling me and you “sir”).
So do doctors – they “observe” at birth, for starters.
In fact, the vast majority of people in the world don’t even use the qualifier “biological”.
Your anatomy and sex are not “insults”, any more than your skin color, height, and other biological characteristics are. Observations of those characteristics are also not “insults”.
Great example. I was actually the person who attended Henry Hanlon’s game in San Francisco and recorded his dominance. The video went viral with over 5 million views and dozens of articles and podcasts about the incredible injustice to the girls who had to play against a boy.
As a woman, I find it offensive when men-pretending-to-be-women call themselves women. Human sex is not “complex biology” – it’s actually very simple. Humans are either male or female from the moment of conception until death. Human sex is binary and immutable.
Love it! It could also read, “States argue to allow boys-pretending-to-be-girls to continue to invade girls’ sports”
Ron O’s comments are EXCELLENT. I wasn’t able to reply to his comments but I’ve copied them here:
“Most people (including those who support transgenderism) STILL refer to women and men in reference to their anatomy, which has a direct impact on outward appearance. (The same reason that strangers feel comfortable in calling me and you “sir”).
So do doctors – they “observe” at birth, for starters.
In fact, the vast majority of people in the world don’t even use the qualifier “biological”.
Your anatomy and sex are not “insults”, any more than your skin color, height, and other biological characteristics are. Observations of those characteristics are also not “insults”.”