Absent a preliminary injunction, the states argue, female athletes are being “deprived of the protections of Title IX by forcing them to compete against biological males.”
Asked about this file, the spokesperson for the office of the attorney general of Minnesota, Brian Evans, described in a press release these accusations as “a simple repetition of the alarmist remarks typical of the extreme right and the scapegoat of children disguised as amicus”.
“It’s a shame for the people of these 19 states that their attorneys general are bullying vulnerable children to score cheap political points, rather than helping people who need it,” Evans said, adding that filing the case would have no impact on the trial and “doesn’t matter.”
The Iowa Attorney General’s brief was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Dakota South, from Texas, Utah and Wyoming. All states except Kansas have Republican governors.
The brief also follows the Trump administration’s finding that Minnesota is in violation of Title IX regarding the MSHSL policy, which federal officials ordered the state to make changes to in 10 days. The deadline passed last week with no clear repercussions, although the state told the administration in a letter criticizing the investigation that it would not offer a “substantive response” to their request, due to a lack of clarity and the federal government shutdown.
“As you know,” wrote Minnesota Solicitor General Liz Kramer, “if the federal government intends to follow the law, it will have to go through a thorough, multi-step administrative process before it can terminate any federal funding for Minnesota’s educational programs or activities.”
