Teacher of the Year finalist withdraws from contest after X-rated pictures of him in leather harness exposed

Published: 00:44, 14 April 2026 | Updated: 00:56, 14 April 2026 A sixth-grade teacher who was named one of 11 finalists for Minnesota's 2026 Teacher of the Year Award has withdrawn from consideration after photos emerged of him dressed in bondage wear and participating in simulated sex acts. Thomas Rosengren, a sixth-grade social studies and earth science teacher at the Atwater Cosmos Grove City School in Grove City, Minnesota, had been named a finalist for the coveted award by Education Minnesota earlier this month. But on Monday, the organization's official finalist page was updated to state that 'Thomas Rosengren has withdrawn from consideration for Minnesota Teacher of the Year.' The announcement came just days after Alpha News unearthed publicly-available photos from the 2019 'Mr Minneapolis Eagle' contest showing Rosengren performing on stage with several men in a sexually-charged performance. Thomas Rosengren, a sixth-grade social studies and earth science teacher at the Atwater Cosmos Grove City School in Grove City, Minnesota, had been named a finalist for Minnesota's 2026 Teacher of the Year Award Rosengren worked as a sixth-grade social studies and earth science teacher, as well as the school's theater director and coach of the boys' junior high baseball team He has withdrawn from the running to be the Teacher of the Year after explicit photos emerged of him from the 2019 'Mr Minneapolis Eagle' contest In one image, Rosengren could be seen wearing a cowboy hat as he held up a sign that reads: 'It's feeding time on the farm. Cowboy Tommy is feeding the six piglets and bull.' Other explicit photos showed two men removing Rosengren's shirt, revealing leather bondage straps, and licking his neck. Rosengren was even seen in the images simulating group oral and anal sex. Similar images were reportedly shared to Rosengren's Facebook page, which has since been wiped.  For his performance, Rosengren was named Mr Minneapolis Eagle 2019, according to The Leather Journal, which described the teacher as a 'boy of service' who had 'been collared as a bratty boy since 2016.' It also said Rosengren was a 'writer, theater, director and educator,' and Rosengren's profile on Facebook further showed he was the 'leatherman' and director of the 2019 competition. He had already been working at the school at the time. Rosengren joined the school district in 2016 as a theater director and later served as a long-term substitute before being hired full time in 2021. He is pictured with his husband Rosengren joined the school district in 2016 as a theater director and later served as a long-term substitute before being hired full time in 2021. He was then working as a sixth-grade social studies and earth science teacher, as well as the school's theater director and coach of the boys' junior high baseball team. It remains unclear whether officials at the Atwater Cosmos Grove City School District were aware of the photos. When reached for comment by Alpha News, Superintendent Kip Lynk said Rosengren is 'entitled to data privacy protections' under state law, and 'without his consent, there is limited information I can share.' But the superintendent later announced that Rosengren is no longer employed at the district. The Daily Mail has reached out to Rosengren and Lynk for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.