Parker Tirrell is a transgender girl from New Hampshire who has been at the center of legal and public attention due to her efforts to participate in girls’ sports at her high school. As of March 6, 2025, here’s an overview based on available information:
Parker, a 16-year-old sophomore at Plymouth Regional High School, identifies as a girl and has been involved in soccer since she was four years old. In 2024, she faced challenges due to New Hampshire’s “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” (HB 1205), signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu on July 19, 2024. This law bans transgender girls in grades 5-12 from participating in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity, requiring team eligibility to be based on the sex listed on a student’s birth certificate “at or near the time of birth.” For Parker, this meant she was initially barred from playing on the girls’ soccer team, despite having played on it during her freshman year.
In August 2024, Parker, along with another transgender girl, Iris Turmelle, and their families, filed a federal lawsuit against their school districts and state education officials, including Commissioner Frank Edelblut. The lawsuit argued that HB 1205 violated their rights under Title IX (which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education) and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. On August 19, 2024, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty granted an emergency order allowing Parker to start soccer practice that evening, just hours before it began. This temporary restraining order was later extended, and on September 10, 2024, a preliminary injunction was issued, permitting both Parker and Iris to play on girls’ teams while their lawsuit proceeds. The judge found that the law likely discriminated against transgender girls and that Parker would suffer irreparable harm—such as stigma and exclusion—without the injunction.
The legal battle expanded in February 2025 when Parker and Iris amended their lawsuit to challenge a Trump administration executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” signed on February 5, 2025. This order threatens to withhold federal funding from schools allowing transgender girls to participate in girls’ sports, further complicating Parker’s situation. The amended complaint alleges that this federal action, alongside the state law, discriminates against transgender students and exceeds presidential authority. As of now, the injunction still allows Parker to play soccer, but the broader case—addressing both the state law and the executive order—remains unresolved, with a trial not expected until at least late 2025.
Parker has expressed that soccer is a vital part of her life, offering her freedom, happiness, and a sense of belonging with her teammates. Her family, deeply rooted in Plymouth (her father, Zach, is on the selectboard, and her mother, Sara, is involved with local nonprofits), has supported her transition, which includes gender-affirming hormone therapy. This therapy, including puberty blockers, has been cited in court as evidence that Parker has no physiological advantage over cisgender girls in sports, a point uncontested by the state in initial hearings.
Public sentiment, as reflected in various sources, is mixed. Supporters, including advocacy groups like GLAD and the ACLU of New Hampshire, hail her case as a fight for equality and inclusion. Critics, including some lawmakers and commentators, argue that allowing transgender girls in girls’ sports undermines fairness and safety for cisgender female athletes, a stance reflected in the state law and federal order. The ongoing legal proceedings will likely shape the future of transgender participation in school sports, both in New Hampshire and potentially nationwide.