Tirrell v. Edelblut

CONCORD, N.H. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Female Athletes United, an association of female athletes, filed a motion Friday with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire to intervene in Tirrell v. Edelblut to defend New Hampshire’s women’s sports law and two executive orders issued by the Trump administration that protect women’s sports. This is the first legal challenge against the Trump administration’s efforts to protect women’s sports.

Last year, New Hampshire passed a law preserving women’s sports. Two male students, represented by the ACLU and GLAD, challenged the law, and the lower court temporarily blocked enforcement of the law as the case proceeded. Attorneys for the male students have now expanded the lawsuit and challenged two executive orders—called “Defending Women from Gender Ideology and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” and “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”—signed by President Donald Trump. Female Athletes United, which has members in New Hampshire and across the country who have lost to male athletes, is asking to join the lawsuit to defend the executive orders and the state law in order to protect women’s sports across the country.

“Women and girls deserve privacy, safety, and equal opportunities. That can’t happen when males are competing in women’s sports, taking spots on women’s athletic teams, and winning women’s championships,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Litigation Strategy and Center for Conscience Initiatives Jonathan Scruggs. “President Trump’s executive orders and New Hampshire’s law merely recognize common sense and track Title IX, the federal law that ensures equal opportunities for women in athletics. While the rest of the world is returning to biological reality, activists continue to push gender ideology in schools and sports across the country. But female athletes have already suffered enough humiliation of losing to males in women’s sports and being told to stay silent. We are urging the court to consider their voices when deciding this vital case.”

“FAU has members across the country who want to compete on a safe and level playing field and cannot do so if they are forced to compete against males,” ADF attorneys explain in their brief. “That includes members who have been forced to compete against male athletes who identify as female. And it includes members who have had to do so in New Hampshire. Plus, the facial relief that plaintiffs seek extends beyond just sports teams. It would affect the executive orders’ protections for female locker rooms, restrooms, and other private spaces. And FAU and its members also have a concrete interest in keeping males out of those private spaces.”

In April, the Biden administration attempted to rewrite Title IX to include “gender identity” in the federal definition of “sex.” ADF attorneys represent Female Athletes United in State of Kansas v. U.S. Department of Education to challenge the rule change, and so far, multiple courts have blocked enforcement of the rule change. In January, a federal court in Kentucky fully halted enforcement of the rule change nationwide, and a Texas court followed by issuing a similar block this month. ADF attorneys also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in two cases seeking to protect women’s sports laws in Idaho and West Virginia.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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