Friends and neighbors,

I wanted to give you a quick update on the Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling in the transgender powerlifter case. On Wednesday, the court issued a unanimous decision that USA Powerlifting discriminated against JayCee Cooper, a biological male who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, by barring Cooper from women's competitions. They said the organization's policy violated the state's Human Rights Act because it targeted Cooper based on gender identity.

Five of the seven justices were appointed by Governor Tim Walz and the other two by former Governor Mark Dayton. While part of the case heads back to a lower court to look at whether ensuring “competitive fairness” is a legitimate business purpose for USA Powerlifting’s ban on transgender athletes, the decision remains a serious step in the wrong direction.

It's hard not to feel angry and disappointed by this outcome, especially when you think about what women's sports stand for. Women’s and girls’ categories exist to keep things safe and fair for female athletes, so they can compete without built-in disadvantages. That’s the whole point. To give girls the same athletic opportunities that men have always had.

Biology obviously plays a huge role in strength sports like powerlifting, and ignoring those differences throws fairness out the window from the very start. Women have spent decades fighting for and building up opportunities for women and girls in athletics, and rulings like this chip away at that important progress. No amount of court writing can change the physical facts of male and female bodies.

This should wake us all up to what's at stake. If we keep sliding this way in Minnesota, we could lose the level playing field that so many female athletes count on.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'll keep standing with those women speaking out and the groups fighting to protect girls' sports.

God Bless,