Two transgender teenagers and their families filed a lawsuit Friday against New Hampshire education officials over a new state law prohibiting them from competing on girls’ sports teams at their public high schools.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Concord, requests Parker Tirrell, 15, be able to play with the girls’ soccer team and Iris Turmelle, 14, be able to try out for the girls’ tennis and track and field teams.
House Bill 1205, scheduled to go into effect Monday, would ban both girls from playing on any girls’ sports teams at their schools, according to court documents. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed the bill into law last month, saying in a statement it “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.”
The advocacy group GLAD, the ACLU of New Hampshire and the law firm Goodwin Procter, who represent the girls and their families, allege the state law denies Tirrell and Turmelle equal educational opportunities and discriminates against them because they are transgender, which violates federal law and the constitutional right to equal protection.
“The law denies them the many educational, social, and physical and mental health benefits that come with playing sports, isolating them from friends and teammates while singling them out for discrimination solely because they are transgender girls,” GLAD said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes amid fierce debate across the US in recent years about bans against transgender athletes. Weeks ago, a South Florida school district voted to give a 10-day suspension to an employee accused of allowing her transgender daughter to play on a girls’ high school volleyball team in 2022 and 2023 in violation of state law. In April, a federal appeals court ruled West Virginia cannot enforce its anti-transgender sports ban against a 13-year-old girl, dealing a blow to one of nearly two dozen such laws enacted by GOP-led states in recent years.
Tirrell and Turmelle both knew from an early age they were girls and interacted with others as girls in every aspect of their lives, according to the suit. They have been accepted as girls by their parents, family, schools, peers, teammates and coaches, the suit said.
Both of the girls had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a health condition characterized by distress resulting from a mismatch between one’s birth sex and gender identity, the suit said. They are receiving puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy “to alleviate the distress of physical characteristics that conflict with their gender identity,” the suit said.
Tirrell is a rising tenth grader at Plymouth Regional High School who played on the girls’ soccer team last year and was looking forward to joining her teammates later this month when the season kicks off, court documents said.
“Playing soccer with my teammates is where I feel the most free and happy. We’re there for each other, win or lose,” Tirrell said in a statement. “Not being allowed to play on my team with the other girls would disconnect me from so many of my friends and make school so much harder. I just want to be myself and to learn, play, and support my teammates like I did last year.”
Tirrell’s mother, Sara, said in a statement being excluded from the team could have an adverse effect on her daughter.
“Any parent wants to know their child is healthy, happy, and feels like they belong. That is no different for my husband and me as parents of a transgender daughter. I am really worried about the harmful impact it will have on Parker’s self-esteem and wellbeing if she is told she has to start the new school year without joining her teammates on the field.”
Turmelle is going to be a freshman at Pembroke Academy and was looking forward to trying out for the tennis and track and field teams, court documents state.
“Starting high school is exciting and new. I played intramural tennis in middle school. I’ve been looking forward to trying out for the tennis and track teams because it will be a way to make more friends in my new school, and I know I’ll learn a lot from it. I’m a transgender girl, I’ve known that my whole life and everyone knows I’m a girl. I don’t understand why I shouldn’t get to have the same opportunities as other girls at school,” Turmelle said in a statement.
Turmelle’s mother, Amy, said in a statement her daughter was excited to try out for the high school sports teams after she had been bullied in middle school.
“After participating in Girls on the Run she is also looking forward to a new challenge by trying out for the school track and field team,” she said in a statement. “Iris experienced bullying at her middle school, and my husband and I just want her to be safe, feel included, and to be treated fairly so she can have a positive and happy high school experience.”
New Hampshire is among 25 states with statewide laws banning transgender students from competing on sports teams aligning with their gender identities, according to data from Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank.
The lawsuit names New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut as well as other state and local education officials as defendants.
Gov. Sununu, the New Hampshire Department of Education and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office were not immediately available for comment.