A transgender male teen in New Hampshire has been allowed to join the girls’ high school soccer team this fall after a federal judge approved an emergency request filed by the teen’s parents. The order was granted just hours before 15-year-old Parker Tirrell was set to attend the first day of soccer practice.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty issued the emergency order on Monday, according to NBC News. The ruling came after Tirrell’s family, along with the family of another transgender teen, 14-year-old Iris Turmelle, filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which was signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu in July.
The New Hampshire law mandates that student-athletes participate in sports teams corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate. The lawsuit, filed on August 16, seeks to overturn this law, arguing that it discriminates against transgender athletes. While Tirrell’s soccer season was imminent, prompting the emergency motion, Turmelle’s sports season does not begin until December.
The lawsuit claims that both teens “knew from an early age that they were girls” and have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition involving significant distress due to a mismatch between one’s assigned sex at birth and gender identity. As part of their treatment, both Parker and Iris live as girls in all aspects of their lives, receiving acceptance from their families, schools, peers, and coaches.
The lawsuit also notes that both teens are undergoing puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy to align their bodies with their female identities, thus preventing the physical changes typically driven by testosterone, such as increased muscle mass.
The plaintiffs argue that Parker and Iris do not have a physiological or biological advantage in sports, and claim that the law violates their rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying them equal educational opportunities. The court will now have to decide whether to block the law entirely as the case proceeds through the legal system.
