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‘Always clutch’ trans softballer doubles, pitches complete game to send team to championship for first time

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‘Always clutch’ trans softballer doubles, pitches complete game to send team to championship for first time


A controversial high school softball team has made the Minnesota state championships for the first time after their star transgender pitcher smashed two doubles and pitched a complete game in a walk-off win.

Trans athlete Melissa Rothenberger’s performance helped her Champlin Park team beat White Bear Lake 3-2 on Wednesday, leading a girl on the losing team to cry and ask her father, “Why can’t you do something?” according to OutKick.

Rothenberger, a junior, went 2-3 at the plate for Champlin Park, sparking her team’s comeback victory after falling behind 2-0 and sending them to the Group 4A state championship Friday.

Marissa Rothenberger pitched a complete game and hit 2 doubles in Wednesday night’s win. SportsRecruits.com

“She’s always clutch,” Champlin Park coach Bryan Woodley told Twin Cities Pioneer Press after the semi-finals win. “I think she’s the best centerfielder in the state. She’s just a great all-around player.”

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Two fathers of girls on the White Bear Lake team told Outkick they were frustrated that their daughters were forced to compete against a biological male.

One said that players’ parents regretted voting for Minnesota Democrats who’ve allowed the youth athletic system to operate this way.

“You’re looking at a whole team of future Republicans,” one dad said.

The Minnesota State High School League [MSHSL] permits students to compete under gender identity, despite President Trump’s executive order barring all biological men from women’s sports.

The league has said that the inclusion of trans athletes is protected and “determined by state law, through the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the Minnesota Constitution,” Outkick reported.

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Champlin Park will play in its first ever state championship game Friday night.
Champlin Park will play in its first-ever state championship game Friday night. Amber Harding

While national governing sports organizations such as USA Softball and the NCAA have implemented female-only policies in women’s sports, state-level laws have created loopholes that allow trans athletes to participate.



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Man, 29, drowns in northern Minnesota lake

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Man, 29, drowns in northern Minnesota lake



A 29-year-old man drowned at a lake in northern Minnesota on Saturday, according to the sheriff’s office.

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The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office said the man drowned at the swimming area at Little Emily Lake Park. The man was at the park with family and friends at the time.

First responders arrived at the scene to try and rescue him, but he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said.

Little Emily Lake is about 40 miles north of Brainerd.

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Kendall Qualls wins GOP endorsement for governor

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Kendall Qualls wins GOP endorsement for governor


DULUTH – Army veteran and former health care executive Kendall Qualls won the endorsement for governor from Republican activists gathered for the GOP state convention Saturday, beating House Speaker Lisa Demuth after 10 rounds of voting. If nominated, he’ll be the first Black major party candidate for governor in state history. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar […]



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If Nolan Teasley is the “primary football executive” in Minnesota, Seahawks will get compensatory picks

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If Nolan Teasley is the “primary football executive” in Minnesota, Seahawks will get compensatory picks


The hiring of Seahawks assistant G.M. Nolan Teasley as the Vikings’ new G.M. will carry a specific benefit for his former team.

Per the league, Teasley qualifies as a diverse candidate under the NFL provision that gives the former team of a newly-hired G.M. or head coach a pair of third-round compensatory draft picks.

The only question is whether Teasley will be Minnesota’s “primary football executive.” That requirement prevented the Bears from receiving the compensatory draft picks when assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham was hired to be the Falcons G.M. The league decided that president of football Matt Ryan is the “primary football executive” in Atlanta.

The Bears appealed the decision to the league, and Bears fans continue to be mystified by the outcome — especially since Ryan has made it clear that Cunningham is a General Manager “in every facet of the word.”

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Minnesota has no similar position to Ryan’s job with the Falcons. The only alternative to Teasley would be coach Kevin O’Connell. But there has been no indication that, moving forward, O’Connell will emerge as the top football executive for the Vikings, with full control over the roster and the draft.

The NFL’s full collection of diversity of initiatives have recently come under attack by Florida’s attorney general. The Seahawks getting two extra third-round draft picks undoubtedly will spark a reaction from those who, in the current climate, attack efforts aimed at enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.





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