A growing national clash over transgender athletes in girls’ sports reached new heights this week, as the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Maine over its policy allowing biological males to compete in female athletic events. The confrontation has escalated into a broader cultural and political fight, one that continues to divide public opinion and shape campaign platforms across the country.
Appearing on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Amy Jacobson and Charles Thomas, conservative columnist Dustin Grage of Townhall.com weighed in on the controversy and revealed that Minnesota, too, is quietly dealing with similar situations at the high school level.
Grage confirmed that at least two biological males are currently competing in girls’ track and field events at a large public high school in Greater Minnesota. One of the athletes, a senior, has already taken first place in triple jump at a recent meet and ranks among the top 10 in multiple events, including shot put.
“This is a very average male athlete who’s now dominating in female events by sheer strength,” Grage said, noting that the athlete had shifted from sprinting—where results were mediocre—to field events in order to rack up wins.
The school, located near the North Dakota border, has opted not to bring the athlete to competitions held across state lines in North Dakota, where policies ban transgender athletes from competing based on gender identity rather than biological sex. Meanwhile, Minnesota continues to allow such participation, aligning with Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s stance on transgender rights.
“This is not a small rural issue anymore—it’s happening in big public schools,” Grage emphasized.
The controversy in Minnesota echoes the situation in Maine, where Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump campaign have pledged to cut federal funding for states that allow biological males to compete in women’s sports. Bondi pointed to specific cases in which girls lost scholarships, records, and opportunities due to male competitors.
During a recent press event, former President Trump directly confronted Maine’s Governor Janet Mills, warning her that the state could lose all federal funding if it doesn’t comply with federal gender-based Title IX protections as reinterpreted by the Trump team.
Grage believes these issues are politically toxic for Democrats, even in left-leaning states. “This is an 80/20 issue across the country. People don’t support it, and Democrats are doubling down anyway,” he said. “It’s not a winning issue in suburban swing districts.”
He also criticized Governor Walz for supporting policies that could hurt the state’s Democratic prospects in future elections. Grage speculated that Walz may be eyeing a future presidential run, using progressive culture war issues like transgender sports participation as rallying points for a national campaign.
Meanwhile, Grage said the backlash is already brewing in Minnesota, with many concerned parents quietly raising objections, especially as biological males start to dominate female sports categories.
Grage, who was recently the target of a swatting incident—where a fake emergency call is made to trigger an armed police response—tied the intimidation to his public stance on issues like transgender athlete participation. He is among more than 20 conservative commentators who’ve been targeted in this manner in recent months.
“Someone called pretending to be me, said I had killed my wife and kids, and was barricaded in my bathroom,” Grage said. “It was an attempt to get me killed by law enforcement.”
Grage credits local police for quickly recognizing the call as a hoax before entering his home, but acknowledged that many others have not been so lucky. The investigation into the coordinated swatting campaign is ongoing, with assistance from federal law enforcement.
“This is political violence,” Grage said. “And it’s all coming from the left.”
In a few weeks, governors from key blue states—Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, New York’s Kathy Hochul, and Minnesota’s Tim Walz—are expected to testify before Congress about their sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants. Grage predicted Walz would attend, calling him “a man who never turns down a camera.”
While Minnesota narrowly avoided passing a full sanctuary state law, Grage says it’s only a matter of time before those policies return for another vote.
“They need illegal immigration to keep the state’s population up,” he said, pointing to net migration losses among native Minnesotans.
As the transgender athlete debate continues to dominate headlines—and campaign talking points—conservatives like Grage see it as a pivotal issue in the 2024 and 2028 election cycles.
“It’s not just about sports,” Grage concluded. “It’s about fairness, safety, and common sense. And the Democrats are on the wrong side of all three.”
Photo by Fitsum Admasu on Unsplash