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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) dropped its lawsuit against the Arizona Department of Education, which challenged the state’s ban on biological boys playing in girls’ sports.
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This comes one week after the Supreme Court issued its ruling upholding similar bans.
Officials with NCLR told Arizona’s Family they dropped the lawsuit, but that doesn’t mean they’re going away. Officials with the state education department said this is a victory for girls’ sports in Arizona.
“It’s gratifying that it’s all over. They’ve agreed to dismiss the case and it’s a great victory for girl sports,” Arizona Department of Education Superintendent Tom Horne said.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that each state can decide eligibility to play in women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex.
This means that states can choose to let transgender athletes play or prohibit them.
“We have had the law prohibiting boys from being in girls’ sports since 2022. Two large law firms from New York filed an action in the Tucson area to declare our law unconstitutional,” Horne added.
Leaders with NCLR said that while they voluntarily decided to drop the lawsuit, it was at the request of one of the clients the organization represents.
The group said it had been a “grueling process for young people,” and the young woman they were working with ultimately decided not to continue the legal process.
The group did not say if there were any next steps.
“State schools chief Tom Horne is praising the decision by the plaintiff challenging Arizona’s ban on biological boys in girls’ sports to voluntarily dismiss their lawsuit following last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the subject.
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Horne said, “Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that these laws are not unconstitutional, the plaintiff in our case has volunteered to dismiss the case. This is a victory for girl athletes and for common sense.”
He added, “Arizona has had a state law banning biological boys in girls’ sports since 2022. Two large New York law firms filed a suit to declare that law unconstitutional. They named four defendants. The other three conceded. I was the only defendant to carry the fight forward. The Attorney General would not represent me, so I had to fight it out of the Department of Education budget.”
He concluded, “There had been numerous articles about girls who worked hard on their sports, hoping to make the team, or even get a college scholarship or compete for the Olympics. Then they had to compete with a biological boy who was bigger, stronger and faster from birth. They could not compete. Their dreams were shattered and they were devastated. They no longer need to fear those outcomes.”
Superintendent Horne also thanks the Wilenchik Law Firm for their valuable work on this case.”
“As an initial matter, I would like to correct the press release from Horne. The case has not yet been dismissed.
We have communicated our client’s desire to dismiss the litigation to opposing counsel.
Litigation is a grueling process, particularly for young people. It was over three years ago that this case started, when our client was in middle school. She has decided for personal reasons that she does not want to continue with the litigation.”
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