Arizona parents of 2 transgender girls file lawsuit regarding school sports

TUCSON, Ariz. - The parents of two transgender girls in Arizona have filed a lawsuit that challenges a year-old state law that bans their daughters from participating in school sports.

Attorneys for the families filed a complaint on April 18 in U.S. District Court in Tucson. Their names are not used in court documents out of fear for their children's safety.

The plaintiffs include an 11-year-old who wants to play girls’ soccer, basketball and cross-country, and a 15-year-old volleyball player. In court filings, they are going by the names Jane Doe and Megan Roe.

"Jane knows this would be because she is transgender, and I worry about how that will affect her self-esteem and her confidence," her mother said in a statement.

"The ban’s exclusion of plaintiffs from participating in school sports because they are transgender denies them equal treatment under the law," attorneys wrote in the 21-page complaint.

Their lawyers argue the law violates the equal protection clause under the U.S. Constitution and Title Nine, but the state superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne, says the law is about fairness.

Horne is among one of the defendants.

He says he's contacting the Arizona Attorney General about the next steps in the lawsuit.

The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.