Trans athletes drop lawsuit against New Hampshire women's sports law
A pair of male student athletes who identify as female have ended their legal complaint against a New Hampshire law that barred them from girls’ sports.
Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle dropped their lawsuit last week, with their legal representatives filing a motion in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire.
Chris Erchull, a staff attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), which helped represent Tirrell and Turmelle, said that one factor in the decision was that the two trans-identified athletes were no longer trying to participate in girls’ sports in New Hampshire.
According to Erchull, Turmelle had moved out of New Hampshire, while Tirrell, now a high school senior, had willingly quit the girls’ soccer team. Regarding Tirrell, the attorney also cited protests at games and “opposing teammates not willing to shake her hand at the end of the game.”
“It’s heartbreaking for these kids, and so we’re going to continue working to show that both to the public and the courts,” Erchull said, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which successfully intervened in the case on behalf of multiple female student athletes in support of the state law, celebrated the news.
“Women and girls deserve privacy, safety, and equal opportunities. That can’t happen when males are competing in women’s sports, taking spots on women’s athletic teams, and winning women’s championships,” ADF Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs said in a statement.
“Trump’s executive orders and New Hampshire’s law recognize common sense and track Title IX, the federal law that ensures equal opportunities for women in athletics. We are grateful this case is coming to an end and that New Hampshire is free to protect its female athletes.”
In July 2024, New Hampshire became one of more than 20 states to ban males who identify as female from scholastic sports designated for girls and women.
Known as House Bill 1205, the measure passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives in a 189-182 vote, while the Senate passed it 13-10, with nearly all Republicans in favor and nearly all Democrats opposed.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu called the law an example of “commonsense, bipartisan solutions that reflect the values of parents across our state.”
“The vast majority of Granite Staters share in this approach — because it is fair, balanced, and void of political considerations,” he said at the time. “By enacting these measures, we continue to uphold the principles of safety, fairness, and common sense for all our citizens.”
Tirrell and Turmelle challenged the law in court, with a district court judge blocking enforcement of HB 1205 in September 2024 and putting a stay on the legal proceedings.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of West Virginia v. B.P.J. that states can ban males who identify as female from participating in women's sporting competitions.
“The question before the Court is: Under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, may schools maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females?” wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the majority opinion.
“In other words, may schools determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex? The answer is yes.”
After the Supreme Court decision was released, the pause on legal proceedings was lifted, and both sides were asked to submit new briefs in light of the decision, the Bulletin reported.
