L.E. v. Lee
Plaintiff Luc Esquivel (he/him)
Middle District of Tennessee
Case No. 3:21-cv-00835
STATUS: CLOSED
Case Information
In 2021, Tennessee passed SB 228, the “Gender in Athletics Law,” which banned trans youth from participating in school sports on teams consistent with their chosen gender identity. On November 4, 2021, then-14-year old Luc Esquivel, a trans boy in his freshman year of high school, brought a complaint against Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee State Board of Education challenging the discriminatory law. Luc sought the basic right to try out for the boys’ golf team, which would have been impossible without intervention by the court.
Tennessee’s law flies in the face of long-standing trans-inclusive policies in team sports, including those promulgated by the NCAA, the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA), and the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA). Both the TMSAA and the TSSAA had regulations allowing trans students to participate in school sports, and had reported no issues with their inclusive policies.
The District Court Decision
On March 29, 2024, the district court RULED in favor of Luc and held that the Gender in Athletics Law violated his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The win is somewhat narrow. Luc brought an “as-applied” challenge to the law, meaning that he sought to establish that his rights were violated by the law, not that the law itself was unconstitutional. Furthermore, the district court found that the law did not violate Title IX, even though it concluded that the law discriminated against trans students. This is because the court was limited by the Sixth Circuit’s 2023 decision in L.W. v. Skrmetti, which cabined the trans-inclusive framework of Bostock to only Title VII (employment) cases.
Neither party appealed, and the case was administratively closed on March 29, 2024.
FILINGS & Decisions
Middle District of Tennessee
Complaint - Nov 4, 2021
Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment - Oct 7, 2024
Opinion - Mar 29, 2024