Transgender Teens Drop Sports Lawsuit After Supreme Court Ruling

Two transgender girls who first challenged President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” have withdrawn their New Hampshire lawsuit following a recent Supreme Court ruling and their own personal struggles, according to their lawyer.

Chris Erchull of GLAD Law explained in a Thursday statement, “This case was always about two courageous young girls who simply wanted the same opportunities as their peers to participate in school life. Their willingness to stand up to extraordinary hostility made clear the human cost of laws that target transgender youth.”

Teenagers Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle took on Trump’s executive order last year, amending their original 2024 complaint against New Hampshire’s ban on transgender girls in school sports. A federal judge had allowed both girls to keep playing while the case proceeded, letting Tirrell remain on her high school girls’ football team and giving Turmelle the chance to try out for different sports.

Both sides agreed to pause the case while awaiting a Supreme Court decision on similar laws in Idaho and West Virginia. Last month, the court upheld those state bans, ruling that excluding transgender girls and women from school sports does not violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.

Turmelle and her family relocated out of New Hampshire last summer after lawmakers proposed further restrictions targeting transgender residents. One new law, signed by Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte, bars medical professionals from providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to new transgender patients under 18. Turmelle’s mother, Amy Manzelli, wrote in an op-ed at the time, “Though there may be a carve-out for people already receiving gender-affirming care, that is way too close a call for us to risk staying. Other New Hampshire laws also seek to erase her.”

Over the past five years, most Republican-led states have introduced similar restrictions on gender-affirming care, school bathroom access, and sports participation for transgender youth. The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that around 3% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 identify as transgender. Corinne Goodwin of the Eastern PA Trans Equality Project noted the heavy toll such relocations take on families, saying, “The challenges with relocation are significant and burdensome… But these families do so because they love their kids and know that supporting them with the care and opportunities they need is critical to their long-term success and happiness.”

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tirrell began her junior year on the girls’ junior varsity football team, celebrating each goal with a family ice cream tradition. But a few weeks into the season, mounting political pressure led her to step away from the sport. Her mother, Sara Tirrell, told The Associated Press, “With all of the political stuff going on, soccer wasn’t just about the game anymore,” describing constant anxiety over potential protests and unrest at games.

The family recalled an earlier controversy where two opposing team parents were banned from school property for wearing pink wristbands marked “XX,” a case they later appealed after losing in court. Increased security became routine at games, with more school staff present and buses parked closer to the field. “Parker didn’t talk about it a lot, but I think she could see that stress for everybody,” her mother said, adding that Parker eventually decided the pressure had become too much.

Parker’s father, Zach Tirrell, described the atmosphere as one of “palpable tension,” noting police officers began appearing even at home games, something that hadn’t happened before. Parker still plays recreational football with supportive teammates, but her mother says she continues to worry about how others might react. “She still has that worry in her brain,” Sara Tirrell said. Parker’s family hopes she’ll eventually return to competitive football, and in the meantime, she intends to keep speaking out against discrimination.

What do you think the long-term impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling will be on transgender youth in sports?