Marissa Rothenberger is a 17-year-old junior at Champlin Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota.
She’s a standout athlete on the girls’ varsity fastpitch softball team and is primarily known for her pitching skills.
In the 2025 season, she had an outstanding record of 5 wins and 1 loss, a very low earned-run average of 0.72, and struck out 59 batters.
Marissa is transgender, which means she was assigned male at birth but has identified and lived as female.
Her legal name and gender were changed when she was nine years old.
Her participation in girls’ sports has drawn attention and sparked controversies in the community and beyond.
Marissa Rothenberger’s Legal Gender Change At 9 Sparks Debate Over Fairness In Girls’ Sports
When Marissa turned nine, her mother, Heather, went to the Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota to request changes to Marissa’s birth certificate.
The court approved changing Marissa’s listed sex from male to female and her name from “Charlie Dean” to “Marissa.”
The change allows her to participate in girls’ sports, following the Minnesota State High School League rules.
Although there’s no mention of any medical steps like hormone treatment, Heather wanted to make sure Marissa could live as the girl she truly is, both legally and socially.
People, particularly those who advocate for transgender rights, likely see Heather as a loving and affirming parent.
By legally changing Marissa’s birth certificate at age nine, Heather ensured her daughter could navigate school, sports, and social settings as a girl without the complications of mismatched legal documents.
‘Trans kids deserve to play sports. Think about what you remember from your time playing sports and 99 percent of it is: finding that jersey for the first time, your favorite number, community, joy, those high-fives.’
Former ESPN staffer Kate Fagan
‘It’s that moment when you have a great play with a teammate, it’s the feeling of belonging and it does not know gender. Trans kids deserve that – the same as everybody else does.
On the contrary, some folks argue that allowing Marissa to compete in girls’ sports, facilitated by the birth certificate change, creates an unfair advantage due to biological differences in strength and athletic ability.
Meet “Marissa” Rothenberger, a 6-foot-tall MALE pitcher pretending to be a FEMALE, who has been dominating Girls’ High School softball in Brooklyn Park, MN.
Sarge Forry
Chalk one up for Womens rights…
Hey MARTY, MARVIN, MARK, you can bring it underhand bruh💪🏼.
Does Mom n Pops go to the games and cheer him on?
Proud Parent moment, I guess but in this position I’d tell my girl to be a masons tender and BE A MAN!
Id tell my boy to go heavier on the eye liner, shorter on the skirts and be a cheerleader!
People are out their F’n minds
There are still boys in girls sports. Parents need to make noise and stand up to this. Girls are loosing out.
Robert Hill
Online commentators have been harsher, calling Heather “shameless” and accusing her of enabling Marissa to “cheat” in sports.
Some posts express anger at progressive parents for supporting transgender participation in girls’ sports, with one user suggesting Marissa’s parents are part of a “progressive” agenda that undermines fairness.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- In April 2025, she led Champlin Park to a shutout victory against Rogers High School, the defending state champions, with 14 strikeouts and a double base hit.
- Her 2025 stats include a 0.72 ERA, 59 strikeouts, and a 5-1 record, showing she’s one of the top pitchers in her division.
- As a sophomore, she earned awards like Player of the Month from the Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League and First-Team All-State honors.
