Mark Sommerhauser

msommerhauser@stcloudtimes.com

A Cathedral High School official who cast the lone vote against a new high school league policy for transgender athletes said it doesn't fully define exemptions for religious schools.

The policy, enacted Thursday by the Minnesota State High School League board, says transgender student-athletes will have the option to play on teams that fit their gender identity. It will take effect in the 2015-2016 school year.

Transgender students and other supporters say the changes are necessary to give those student-athletes an equal shot to play and be comfortable.

Emmett Keenan is a high-school league board member and activities director at Cathedral High School. He cast the lone vote against the policy, with 18 other board members voting in favor and one abstaining, according to the Star Tribune.

The policy notes exemptions for religious schools that already exist in state law. But Keenan says it should have gone farther to define what constitutes a religious school.

Keenan also said he wasn't convinced the policy wouldn't create safety concerns for female athletes in cases where a transgender female athlete sought to play on a girls' team.

"What are some of the physical safety issues with, potentially, a larger-size individual who now presents as female?" Keenan said.

Critics of the policy ran an ad Sunday in newspapers statewide, including the St. Cloud Times, that asked if it could be "The end of girls' sports?"

Supporters dismissed those concerns as overwrought. Rep. Barb Yarusso, a Shoreview Democrat who has a transgender son, deflected the criticism that the MSHSL was moving too fast. She said the policy change would make transgender students feel welcome and more comfortable in their own skin.

"It's a small number of kids that you have an opportunity to do a big thing for," she said.

Keenan said he felt the issue needed to be addressed and the board generally handled it well. He said he's confident that high-school athletic and activity directors want to work with all students to make sure they can participate.

"I have the utmost faith in all my colleagues," Keenan said. "We will work out details that need to be worked out for any circumstance, with the well-being of all kids in mind."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Mark Sommerhauser on Twitter @msommerhauser.