A female hockey player in Minnesota has resigned from her team in protest of policies which allowed four trans-identified males to be accepted onto the roster. In collaboration with HeCheated, Reduxx has learned that there are at least seven male players who identify as transgender playing on women’s hockey teams in Minnesota.
In October 2021, USA Hockey incorporated a new policy allowing anyone to participate “according to the gender with which the athlete identifies.” The only requirement for a male to play in the women’s league is to self-identify and register as female with USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport.
The policy instructs coaches and officials to “educate” themselves about “diversity” and to use the preferred names and pronouns of male players who identify as women. It also directs leaders to protect the identities of “transgender” players and to decline to disclose to other team members whether an individual is male or female. Perhaps most troubling, the policy also encourages staff to actively “confront” behaviors from other players that may be perceived as “discriminatory.”
In Minnesota, the largest recreational women’s hockey league is the Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota (WHAM), which follows USA Hockey guidelines and offers opportunities for players of all levels, from beginners to elite athletes. The nonprofit organization also accommodates a wide range of ages, from teens to women in their 60s. It is divided into three levels—A, B, and C—with the A division reserved for advanced, highly skilled players.
As previously reported by Sarah Barker of The Female Category, as of 2024 one A-level team had at least four male players competing with and against women, with two of those same players registered again on the 2025 – 2026 roster. The Robins apparently benefited from having male players, and secured a standing of second place in last year’s season in the A3 division.
The male athletes who played in the 2024 – 2025 season can be identified as Brady “Rhea” Turner, Kody “Kayley” Misialek, Paige Dylan “Paige” Rainer, and Chris “Diana” Sulmone. This year, three men are back on the Robins’ roster – Misialek, Sulmone, and Rainer.
Last year was Turner’s first season competing in the women’s league. He previously played on the Waconia boys’ team and, at 6 feet tall, has also skated with Team Trans, a hockey team composed of players who identify as transgender.
Misialek has competed in the women’s league since 2022, beginning with the Arrows (B2) in the 2022–2023 season before transferring to the Blizzard (B1) in 2023–2024. Within two seasons, Misialek advanced to the top A division.
Sulmone played for the Ice Pirates (C1) in 2022–2023 and the Rack Pack (B3) in 2023–2024, also making a rapid rise to the A division.
Rainer previously played on a boys’ high school team and later on co-ed teams, according to an article written for Team Trans. The 2024–2025 season is Rainer’s first in the women’s league.
However, the issue within the Robins extends to other teams under the WHAM umbrella. Three more men that have been identified as playing in women’s hockey in Minnesota are Eric “Eliza” Gazett, Nate “Natalie” Elliott, and John David “Jade” Park – who runs a “dyke and queer” bar called The Brass Strap.
Earlier this year, two women publicly spoke out about USA Hockey’s “inclusive” policy, citing safety concerns and revealing that female players had been injured by trans-identified male players.
The first woman to vocalize opposition was Kelley Grotting, who said that she decided to take a stand after she and other female players began to realize there were men in the women’s category.
“One game, we showed up to the rink and we noticed there were very tall players on the ice. And you can tell. We have all played hockey for decades … We did some digging, we just used the internet to realize that there were some transgender players on the opposing team, which was confusing and disheartening. In between periods we came together and said, ‘What is going on?’ It feels unsafe,” Grotting said.
Grotting went on to explain that one of her teammates decided to quit hockey as a result of the men she was being forced to play against and the safety issues it raised.
“[During] our most recent game, one of our players collided with a trans player in the middle of the ice, and it took a long time for her to get up. When she finally caught her breath, she said, ‘I don’t know if I can come back next year.’ We have to say something. It’s no longer fair, it’s no longer fun, and it’s no longer safe.”
In an attempt to persuade WHAM to scrap their “gender inclusivity” policy, Grotting penned an open letter and launched a petition advocating for protecting “biological females in Minnesota women’s ice hockey leagues.” In her letter, she pointed out that women’s hockey “has now been compromised by male players,” a situation which “has made a mockery of WHAM,” and adding, “pretending it’s okay for men to play in a women’s league insults women’s sports and creates serious safety issues.” Her petition received 976 signatures to date.
In response to Grotting’s letter and petition, trans activists launched a petition of their own, titled “Support Trans and Non-Binary Hockey Players in Minnesota.” At present the petition has received over 4,000 signatures.
It reads: “Unfortunately, in recent days, the safe and inclusive nature of this league has been challenged by a small number of players, asking for Minnesota Hockey (the governing body of WHAM) to ‘ban biological males.’ We can do better. For everyone who steps onto a WHAM ice rink, they should feel accepted and welcomed just as they are.”
At the end of October, mother-of-two and hockey veteran Rachel Stoneberg announced she was leaving the sport for good in protest over the gender identity policy. She sent the letter to WHAM on October 10 before posting it publicly on her social media.
In the letter, titled “Dear Hockey: Goodbye,” Stoneberg states that there have been “documented instances” of injuries that have resulted from men playing hockey against women in WHAM.
“Men’s hockey is a different sport than women’s hockey, and male bodies are built differently than female bodies. These are factual truths that I would hope we can all agree on. If someone has played men’s hockey their whole life, are we confident they can turn off that switch? Or are they going to check someone in a corner, or lay someone out mid-ice, causing a concussion – or worse? There are documented instances of this occurring in WHAM, and yet the association has taken no action,” said Stoneberg.
Stoneberg also revealed that she had recently learned that she had been sharing a locker room with a trans-identified male for a full season without her knowledge.
“Earlier this year, I was made aware that there were males playing on women’s hockey teams in WHAM. These individuals were not required to disclose their gender to their teammates or their opponents. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I had been sharing a locker room all season with an individual I thought was female,” Stoneberg remarked.
“I am left to believe they [WHAM] do not care about my safety or the sanctity of the sport I can no longer participate in a league that does not care about me.”
In response to Grotting’s opposition and letter to WHAM in February, female players from the Menagerie Rugby Club issued a statement and attended a match to show support for a trans-identified male player known as Nate “Natalie” Elliott.
According to their March 2 statement, Elliott “was being bullied by [his] own teammate,” indicating that he is the trans-identified player mentioned by Grotting who “collided” with a female player.
Elliott has been playing hockey in women’s teams since 2022, according to his profile, and occasionally participated in multiple teams during the same season in both the A2 and A3 divisions. Elliott has also participated on Team Trans, a hockey team for players who claim a transgender identity.
Speaking to Reduxx, Marshi Smith, a representative with the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, slammed the Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota for failing to protect female players.
“When a women’s sports association allows so many male participants that they could form an entire team of men on the ice, the league no longer merits the “W” for women in its name,” Smith said.
“WHAM’s leadership has engaged in actions that promote deception and betrayal of its own female players, placing them in physically dangerous conditions during play. The violation of female athletes’ privacy in locker rooms and showers is deeply concerning and unacceptable. It is long past time to replace weak leadership that enables trauma and unsafe conditions for women with officials who recognize that female athletes deserve both safety and fair competition within their own category of sport.”
This is not the first time an excessive number of males has been found to be participating in a women’s sports category.
Last year in Canada, trans-identified males dominated a women’s volleyball game – with five male players counted on the competing teams. Similarly in Australia, one women’s football club was reported as having six male players, some of which had been accused of injuring their female competitors.
HeCheated, an independent resource cataloging males in women’s sport, has also identified more men participating on women’s hockey teams outside of the United States, including in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
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