A coalition of 19 states, led by Iowa’s attorney general, has filed a court brief arguing that without a preliminary injunction, female athletes are “stripped of Title IX’s protections by forcing them to compete against biological men.”
The brief was signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. All participating states, except for Kansas, have Republican governors.
In response, Brian Evans, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, dismissed the filing as “merely a repetition of the far-right’s typical scaremongering and scapegoating of kids dressed up as an amicus brief.” Evans added that the attorneys general are “bullying vulnerable kids to score cheap political points” and asserted the court filing will have no impact on the lawsuit.
This legal action follows a recent finding by the Trump administration that Minnesota’s policy on transgender athletes violates Title IX. Federal officials had ordered the state to make changes within 10 days, a deadline that passed last week without clear repercussions.
In a letter criticizing the investigation, the state declined to offer a “substantive response” to the administration’s demand, citing a lack of clarity and the federal government’s shutdown. Minnesota Solicitor General Liz Kramer further argued that federal law requires “an extensive, multi-step administrative process” before any federal funding for the state’s education programs could be terminated.
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