Trans Athletes 'Dismiss' New Hampshire Suit After Supreme Court Setback — But Legal Strategy Reminds Alive
Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit challenging New Hampshire's HB 1205, which bans transgender girls in grades 5–12 from female sports. The dismissal follows the Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal in a similar case, leaving lower court rulings intact. However, their counsel has indicated they have 'a different way to continue arguing that the law is unconstitutional,' as of late June 2026, and the dismissal may be tactical.
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. B.P.J. that Title IX does not bar states from excluding transgender girls from female sports teams. That ruling did not end the road for Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, who had sued New Hampshire over HB 1205. Their counsel obtained a voluntary dismissal in the days following the ruling, but publicly stated they have 'a different way to continue arguing that the law is unconstitutional,' per a WBUR report. This is not a surrender — it is a pivot to a new legal theory, likely one grounded in equal protection rather than the statutory Title IX claim the Court just settled.
HB 1205, a state-level ban that applies to grades 5-12, went into effect in July 2024. The prior misimpression that it covers all K-12 and collegiate sports was inaccurate. The law's scope — excluding transgender girls from middle and high school athletics — still inflicts immediate harms: lost access to team sports, social belonging, and the health benefits recognized by every major medical association. But the dismissal was not the final word. The plaintiffs' attorneys plan to press forward, and the Civil Rights Division, if staffed and willing, could file statements of interest supporting their constitutional claim, or initiate its own investigation under the equal protection clause.
For now, the fight is not over. The Civil Rights Division — starved of resources — could commit to monitoring and intervening in cases like this, where state laws create a patchwork of access for transgender youth. The alternative is a country where a trans girl in Massachusetts can play sports alongside her peers while one in New Hampshire cannot, and where the door remains open for a constitutional challenge that the Court has not yet foreclosed.
The humanitarian alternative
Congress can restore clarity and uniformity by passing the Equality Act, which would explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in education—including athletics. Short of that, the Department of Education can issue interpretive guidance under its Title IX rulemaking authority, clarifying that Title IX's prohibition on sex-based discrimination encompasses gender identity, as the Biden administration did in 2021 before litigation halted that policy. At the state level, legislatures in states without bans can adopt inclusive policies that ensure trans girls can participate in sports on the same terms as cisgender peers, with accommodations like individualized hormone-level review or sport-specific eligibility criteria that balance fairness and inclusion without blanket exclusion.
Falsifiable predictions
What this entry claims will happen, and what data would prove it wrong. The Reckoner revisits these against current reality.
- Within 90 days, at least three more states will introduce bills modeled on the Supreme Court's reasoning to restrict trans athlete participation in K-12 or collegiate sports.
- Within six months, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or a federal district court will cite the Supreme Court's Title IX holding in a case involving transgender rights outside athletics (e.g., bathroom access or pronouns).
Original source — excerpted
news Trans athletes drop lawsuit to gain access to girls' sports in New Hampshire after SCOTUS ruling"A pair of trans athletes in New Hampshire have dismissed their lawsuit to challenge the state law that protects girls' sports after the U.S. Supreme Court's lan..."