Human Rights Marketing campaign Recordsdata Lawsuit In opposition to Florida’s Transgender Sports activities Ban & Declares Future Litigation in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee

The Florida case is being brought on behalf of 13-year-old Daisy * and her parents Jessica and Gary N. Daisy goes to 8th grade in autumn and has been doing team sports since she was 8. She finds joy, friendship and acceptance in basketball, softball and currently as a goalkeeper in three different soccer teams. Florida law will force Daisy either to play on the boys’ soccer team at school, which she will not, or to give up the sport altogether, which would be detrimental to her academic and social development while potentially compromising her privacy and safety.

“Playing sports makes me feel like I fit in, the thought of not being able to play again next year scares me.” said Daisy. “I’ll be lonely and sad when I can’t play.”

Daisy has only participated in girls’ sports teams; While some of her teammates and coaches are aware of their transgender identities, others are not. She has enjoyed a supportive school and team environment and continues to play with other teammates, opposing players and coaches or parents of other student athletes without incident. With the support of her parents, Daisy received gender-affirming medical care in middle school.

Jessica and Gary wholeheartedly supported their daughter during her transition. Jessica and Gary take pride in encouraging Daisy to participate in sports teams by shuttling her back and forth between nightly workouts and scrimmages, paying registration and equipment fees, and coordinating work schedules to ensure they are present to help Daisy at games and To watch tournaments. When Daisy began to express a desire to wear clothing that reflected her authentic gender, Jessica became president of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) elementary school to keep her child safe. Jessica remains a watchful parent and recently switched careers to work as an assistant at the high school Daisy will attend next year.

“It’s a very helpless feeling to know that people think our daughter doesn’t deserve the right to play sports with her friends – she’s been playing with them for seven years and it wasn’t a problem.” said Jessica and Gary. “Taking this immediately will only further isolate them from their colleagues and take away their ‘safe space’. She’s just a girl who wants to do sports with her friends and be part of a team. As her parents, we just want her to be happy. “

The HRC lawsuit makes a number of legal arguments, including that the law clearly violates Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments; Title IX expressly prohibits gender discrimination in any educational program or activity offered by a recipient of government funding. The Justice Department also recently announced that Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in government-funded educational institutions. The lawsuit also alleges that the law violates the equal protection clause and due process clause of Amendment 14 of the US Constitution. More information on the upcoming legal challenges in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee will be announced later this year.