A federal judge rejected a request from some New Hampshire parents on Tuesday to wear pink wristbands with “XX” at girls’ high school soccer games to protest transgender girls playing in the matches.
However, the judge allowed one father, who had been banned for the season after a protest and altercation, to attend his daughter’s games. He can also pick her up from practice, as long as he does not engage in any protest activity.
Judge Steven McAuliffe said the issue of whether parents can protest transgender players at student sports events is legally complicated. He plans to hear more arguments from both sides at a hearing in late November.
The case began when three parents and a grandparent of soccer players at Bow High School sued the district. They claimed their rights were violated when they were barred from school grounds for wearing the wristbands. The “XX” wristbands symbolize the female chromosome pair.
Institute for Free Speech senior attorney Del Kolde speaks to reporters outside the U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H., Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. The Attorney displays the pink armband his clients wore to protest transgender athletes playing on girls soccer teams.
Nick Perry/AP Photo
Two of the parents wore the wristbands during a match on September 17 against Plymouth Regional High School. They said they were “silently expressing their opinion about the importance of reserving women’s sports for biological females,” according to their lawsuit, which was filed by the Institute for Free Speech.
The Bow School District responded by saying that plaintiffs Andrew Foote and Kyle Fellers targeted a 15-year-old transgender player on the visiting team. “They did so despite express warning that such conduct would not be tolerated on the school grounds,” the district wrote. They argued that the parents were sanctioned fairly.
Del Kolde, senior attorney with the Institute for Free Speech, said after the hearing that they had achieved part of what they wanted. He also said police bodycam footage, which will be presented at the November hearing, would back up his clients’ claims. The district declined to comment after the hearing.
The lawsuit says school officials and a police officer approached the parents during the game. They were told to remove the wristbands or leave. The parents refused, citing their First Amendment rights, and were threatened with arrest. The referee stopped the game and said Bow High School would forfeit if the wristbands were not removed. The parents complied, and the game continued.
During the hearing, Kolde acknowledged that Fellers called school officials Nazis. However, he argued that Fellers had a right to say it. Fellers also held a sign that read “Protect Women Sports for Female Athletes,” according to the district.
After the game, the parents received “No Trespass Orders,” banning them from school property. Fellers was banned for the entire fall term. “Parents don’t shed their First Amendment rights at the entrance to a school’s soccer field,” Fellers said in an earlier statement.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
