Parker Tirrell lives and breathes soccer. Iris Turmelle was looking forward to giving tennis and track a shot.

Last week, both teenagers were informed by their schools that a new law passed by the legislature means they wouldn’t be allowed to play on any of the girls’ sports teams.

“I can’t play with a lot of my friends anymore,” said Tirrell, 15, who wanted to play soccer at Plymouth Regional High School. “It’s also a way that I’ve met most of my friends, so they’re also taking that away from me, which is tough.”

Turmelle, 14, and her family had anticipated the news from the Pembroke school district, but when the moment arrived, it was still a heavy blow.

“It hit us very hard,” said Amy Manzelli, Turmelle’s mother. “It’s one thing to talk about being excluded, but to actually be excluded is quite something else.”

Tirrell and Turmelle’s families first met each other this legislative session, testifying against House Bill 1205, which bans students assigned male at birth from joining female sports teams in grades 5 through 12. They traded phone numbers and the girls met.

Now, they’re plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit together filed in U.S. District Court in Concord.

“We’re just sort of feeling it all out together,” said Sara Tirrell, reflecting on the weeks leading up to the lawsuit. “They’re a very nice family to have to be in this situation with.”

“You have this unique understanding of each other,” said Manzelli. “It was warming and comforting.”

Tirrell and Turmelle allege that the state law violates their equal protection rights and Title IX by discriminating against them on the basis of their sex and transgender status.

Tirrell and Turmelle are represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, the ACLU of New Hampshire, and Goodwin, a law firm based in Boston.

“The United States Constitution and federal law protect the rights of students like Parker and Iris to go to school just like everybody else and have the same educational benefits that everyone else is entitled to,” said Chris Erchull, an attorney at GLAD. “It’s setting her apart and singling her out for different treatments for no reason other than the fact that she’s transgender.”

The lawsuit

Nearly two dozen defendants are named in the lawsuit including Frank Edelblut, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, members of the state’s board of education, both the Pemi-Baker Regional and Pembroke school districts, and members of those school boards.

Manzelli previously served on the Pembroke School board before resigning on July 25. Her term was set to end in 2026.

“In anticipation of potentially litigating this matter, we felt that it would be inappropriate for me to continue on the board,” Manzelli told the Monitor in an interview.

The lawsuit challenges the ban that Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law on July 19. The law takes effect on Aug. 18. and mandates proof of sex through a birth certificate.

The families have asked the court for a preliminary injunction that would allow their children to play. Tirrell also asked for an emergency order in hopes that a judge would issue an initial ruling before Plymouth soccer practice begins on Monday at 6 p.m.

With soccer season kicking off, the thought of not practicing or playing with her team — something she’s cherished since she was four — was almost too much for Tirrell to bear.

“It was crushing,” the 15-year-old said.

After signing, Sununu said in a statement that the measure “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.”

This fairness, though, comes at the expense of transgender girls like Tirrell and Turmelle, said Henry Klementowicz, deputy legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire.

“This law targets transgender girls because of their gender identity and sex, and that violates both Title IX, requiring equal opportunities in education on the basis of gender and the Equal Protection Clause,” he said.

Even Turmelle’s updated birth certificate, which clearly listed her gender as female since 2019, couldn’t help their case because the regulation requires that the birth certificate display the student’s biological sex as it was “at or near the time of the student’s birth.”

This new law in New Hampshire isn’t just a matter of concern for transgender youth — it could also have implications for cisgender girls.

The law requires that girls must prove their sex by presenting a birth certificate or other evidence to play a sport, but it remains unclear if schools must require birth certificates for all girls or if it will happen on a case-by-case basis.

“Nobody attempting to play on a boys team has to do any of this,” Manzelli said. “If you’re taller and therefore you are winning maybe you’re transgender, and maybe you have to go through a special examination… It’s just horrible.”

Nation-wide trend

The New Hampshire lawsuit follows actions taken in other states across the country. In Tennessee, a 15-year-old sophomore and his family sued the state after a transgender sports ban prevented him from trying out for the boy’s golf team. In Idaho, a Boise State University track runner is suing the state, as she is transgender and wants to run on the women’s team.

“I think that this a political moment at which transgender people, transgender youth in particular, are under attack nationwide,” said Erchull, the GLAD attorney. “It arises from that there are people trying to leverage fear and unfamiliarity to target a vulnerable minority.”

In West Virginia, a middle school student and her family sued the state, challenging a ban that would prevent her from cheerleading and trying out for cross country. The Fourth Circuit court struck down the law.

For Klementowicz, this legal precedent shows that “the weight of authority is on our side.”

In 25 states laws are in place that restrict participation in sports. New Hampshire is an outlier in New England though, with Ohio and West Virginia being the closest states to have similar policies.

What’s next?

Rep. Mike Moffett, a Loudon Republican, was not surprised to learn of the lawsuit.

After sponsoring the bill this legislative session, and listening to hours of testimony, he expected a challenge to the new law.

“It was inevitable,” he said. “I’m not surprised. I know that the families and parents of transgender individuals are very passionate about advocating for their children.”

As the parent of two daughters, who are “wonderful athletes” Moffett took interest in sponsoring the bill from a safety perspective, he said.

It is the same argument Sen. Tim Lang, a Sanbornton Republican, stands by as well.

“Due to the safety concerns of just the pace at which boys play sports instead of girls, that the physical advantages that biological boys have over biological girls, that also increases that risk to girls,” he said.

Transgender girls like Turmelle and Tirrell still have the opportunity to play sports on boys teams, he continued.

“No one’s taking away that opportunity,” he said. “But remember, every time they play on a team, it’s the other team that’s put at risk.”

Klementowicz challenges that idea. Both Turmelle and Tirrell were diagnosed with gender dysmorphia – a medical condition that is characterized by distress relating to an incongruence between someone’s gender identity and sex at birth.

“Parker and Iris live their lives as girls,” he said. “To single them out and make them play on a sports team for an agenda, it would be just not a real option, not something that is an equal opportunity.”

Manzelli agreed.

“My daughter, Iris, is a girl,” she said. “She’s not going to go play on the boys team. That would be embarrassing and humiliating.”

Moffett expects the conversation to continue in the state house if he is re-elected. Legal challenges to state law provide legislators the chance to fine-tune.

“You can evaluate the court decision and determine whether or not to try again with different language,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parker and Iris will still be students navigating school without sports, unless they prevail in court.

“I encourage them to come watch me play soccer because it doesn’t look like I am overpowering people when I’m playing the sport,” said Tirrell.