Minnesota attorney general files preemptive lawsuit against Trump on transgender sports ban

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Minnesota attorney general files preemptive lawsuit against Trump on transgender sports ban

2025-04-23 04:53 Last Updated At：05:12

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a preemptive lawsuit Tuesday against Republican President Donald Trump seeking to block his administration from acting against Minnesota in the way it's taking on Maine under a federal push to ban transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports.

“Minnesota brings this lawsuit to stop President Trump and his administration from bullying vulnerable children in this state,” Ellison said at a news conference, quoting the opening line from the lawsuit naming Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi.

When Bondi announced the administration’s lawsuit against Maine last week, she warned that Minnesota and California could be next. The administration's lawsuit followed weeks of feuding between Trump and Democratic Gov. Janet Mill of Maine that led to a clash at the White House when she told Trump, “We’ll see you in court.”

With this case, Ellison is trying to beat Trump and Bondi to the courthouse.

The federal lawsuit asks the court to declare Trump's two executive orders on the matter — and letters that the Justice Department has sent to Minnesota threatening to cut off education funding if the state doesn't comply — unconstitutional and bar their enforcement. Ellison told reporters that the orders violate the constitutional separation of powers by usurping Congress' authority to legislate. He said the orders also violate the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funds.

The Minnesota Human Rights Act has protected transgender rights since 1993, and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation in 2023 making the state a refuge for transgender children coming from other states for gender-affirming care. Ellison issued a formal legal opinion in February that said the state's human rights protections supersede Trump's exective order on sports, and the attorney general said his guidance is legally binding in Minnesota unless a court rules otherwise.

“Trump’s burning desire to destroy trans kids and punish us for helping them live and thrive isn’t just a violation of law, it’s a violation of Minnesota values," Ellison said. "And we’re not going to sell out trans kids or any vulnerable community just to stay in the good graces of a lawless administration.”

The White House and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

But the top Republican in state government, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, backed Trump's position.

“It’s extremely disappointing that Attorney General Ellison would rather risk federal funding and file yet another taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the Trump administration than simply do the right thing and keep boys out of girls sports,” Demuth said in a statement. "It’s a waste of taxpayer money to further a political agenda that makes girls less safe and makes sports less fair.”

Ellison was joined at his news conference by parents of transgender children and human rights activists, incuding state Rep. Leigh Finke of St. Paul, Minnesota's first openly transgender legislator. Addressing Trump and his supporters, Finke said LGBTQ+ people have always existed in every culture throughout history.

“No law, no policy, no hate-fueled campaign will ever change that. So I’m asking you to just please stop trying," Finke said. "To those of you in that world who still are capable of hearing from those of us outside of it, understand this: All that we ask is to be left in peace, to live and love and without fear.”

Dr. Kelsey Leonardsmith, who treats transgender children from several states at the Family Tree Clinic in Minneapolis, and is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said transgender girls and women are already underrepresented in sports and make up just a tiny percentage of student athletes. She disputed the contention of critics that allowing them to participate in girls sports gives them unfair advantages and puts other girls in physical danger.

“Shutting out trans girls helps no one, and it is profoundly harmful to those it excludes," Leonardsmith said. "On the surface, it removes opportunities for physical activity, for fitness, for belonging. But on a more fundamental level, it says to trans youth, ‘We do not believe you, you are not real,’ and it is hard to imagine a more damaging message to send to children.”

NBA playoff guide: Who plays when, how to watch, what the odds are

2025-05-02 22:17 Last Updated At：22:20

The Eastern Conference semifinals are set: We already knew it was Cleveland vs. Indiana, and now we've got Boston vs. New York in the other bracket.

As for the Western Conference, the wait continues.

Jalen Brunson scored 40 points and the Knicks are into Round 2 of the NBA playoffs after beating Detroit in Game 6 on Thursday night, ending a series where the road team won each of the final five games.

And the Los Angeles Clippers forced a Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, winning in LA on Thursday night to extend that series to the ultimate.

There's one game on Friday — Game 6 between Golden State and Houston, with the Warriors looking to finish off that series.

All times Eastern

9 p.m. — Houston at Golden State (ESPN)

All times Eastern

7:30 p.m. — LA Clippers at Denver (TNT)

All times Eastern

6 or 8 p.m. — Indiana at Cleveland (TNT)

8:30 p.m. — Golden State at Houston (TNT, if necessary)

(If there is no Golden State-Houston game, the Indiana-Cleveland game will start at 8 p.m.)

Oklahoma City (+150) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Boston (+200). After that, it's Cleveland (+500), Golden State (+1800), Minnesota (+1800), the Los Angeles Clippers (+3000), New York (+4000), Denver (+4000), Indiana (+6600) and Houston (+12500).

On Thursday, Boston’s Jrue Holiday was named the league’s sportsmanship award winner for the second time.

Other awards so far:

— Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels won most improved player.

— San Antonio's Stephon Castle won rookie of the year.

— Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award.

— Golden State's Draymond Green won the hustle award.

— Cleveland’s Evan Mobley won defensive player of the year.

— New York's Jalen Brunson won clutch player of the year.

— Boston's Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year.

— Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson wins NBCA coach of the year award.

The league has not announced a schedule for other awards — including MVP and coach of the year — along with All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.

The highest-scoring games by players so far in this year's playoffs:

43 — Jamal Murray, Denver vs. LA Clippers, April 29

43 — Anthony Edwards, Minnesota vs. LA Lakers, April 27

40 — Jalen Brunson, New York at Detroit, May 1

39 — Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers at Denver, April 21

38 — Luka Doncic, LA Lakers at Minnesota, April 27

38 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City at Memphis, April 26

38 — LeBron James, LA Lakers at Minnesota, April 25

38 — Jalen Green, Houston vs. Golden State, April 23

Sunday — Round 2 of the playoffs starts.

May 12 — Draft lottery, Chicago.

May 18 or 20 — Game 1, Western Conference finals.

May 19 or 21 — Game 1, Eastern Conference finals.

June 5 — Game 1, NBA Finals. (Other games: June 8, June 11, June 13, June 16, June 19 and Game 7, if necessary, will be June 22.)

June 25 — NBA draft, first round.

June 26 — NBA draft, second round.

— Preview of Friday's game: Rockets-Warriors.

— Giannis Antetokounmpo has a decision to make. Stay or go?

— Tyrese Haliburton wasn't happy with his dad's postgame celebration.

— A look inside the numbers of this season, headed into the playoffs

— Detroit now has sole possession of the longest home losing streak in NBA playoff history, after extending that drought to 10 games — since 2008 — with Thursday's loss to New York. Philadelphia dropped nine straight from 1968 through 1971. Miami has lost eight straight at home in playoff games; play-in games don't count in that figure.

— The Knicks had the 20th instance in NBA history of a team going 3-0 or better in road games in a single playoff series. This doesn't include three teams — Boston, Toronto and Miami — who went 3-0 (or in the Celtics' case, 4-0) in “road” games during a series in the bubble at Walt Disney World in 2020.

— Detroit's Malik Beasley finished the season with 339 made 3-pointers, 12th-most in NBA history (including playoffs) and the most of anyone not named Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, James Harden or Luka Doncic.

— James Harden played 46 minutes, 35 seconds in the Clippers' win over Denver. That's the most he's ever logged in a non-overtime game and pushed him over the 3,000-minute mark for the season for the eighth time in his career. Among active players, only LeBron James has more 3,000-minute seasons. Thursday was only the second time he played the second, third and fourth quarters in full without a rest; the other was a Christmas Day game for Philadelphia in 2022.

— Denver's David Adelman will become the 110th Game 7 coach in NBA history (and got there in just his 10th career game). Clippers coach Tyronn Lue will look to join Red Auerbach as the only coaches to win their first five Game 7s; Lue is 4-0, Auerbach was 8-0 in his career. Lue will try to be the first coach to win three Game 7s on the road.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba