A transgender teenager can play on the soccer field with her teammates again – at least temporarily – after a federal judge granted her lawsuit against a new New Hampshire state law that would ban her from playing on the girls’ soccer team.

Parker Tirrell, 15, laced up her soccer cleats for practice Monday night after U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty granted a temporary restraining order filed by the teen’s parents giving her the right to join her teammates in time for the start of the season.

The families of Tirrell and 14-year-old Iris Turmelle filed a lawsuit Friday challenging New Hampshire’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, arguing that the law, which Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed last month, is discriminatory under the Title IX Amendment.

The new law states that student athletes’ eligibility to play on a girls’ or boys’ team will be based on the gender indicated on their birth certificate.

Tirrell had applied for an emergency order allowing her to go to soccer practice on Monday, while Turmelle’s sports season does not begin until December.

Outside of the restraining order decision, the two teens and the state must set a date for a hearing at which the court will decide whether to block New Hampshire from enforcing the law while the lawsuit works its way through the court system.

The teenagers’ families argue that the law violates Title IX, which protects people in the United States from discrimination and exclusion based on their sex, sexual orientation and/or gender identity in any educational program or activity funded with federal funds.

McCafferty questioned the applicability of the law’s reasoning, arguing that Tirrell has no physiological or biological advantage over cisgender girls because she takes puberty-blocking drugs to prevent the development of a male body – such as muscle building – which, according to the law, creates an unequal playing field between cisgender and transgender players.

The judge also ruled that the law – and Tirrell’s inability to attend the first practice alongside her teammates – would cause irreparable harm, and therefore granted the emergency motion.

The teen’s lawyer said the girl’s exclusion from her team and the practice would have “lasting, stigmatizing effects” on her.

“Sports have been a source of joy for (Tirrell) and the primary way she makes friends and experiences a sense of belonging and connection with others. Soccer is her true passion,” the lawsuit states. “She played on the girls’ soccer team last year in ninth grade and looks forward to rejoining her team when the season officially resumes on August 30, 2024.”

With post wires