Pink Wristbands at the Center of Legal Dispute
A federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant an immediate order allowing New Hampshire parents to wear pink wristbands with “XX” at girls’ high school soccer games to protest the participation of transgender athletes. The wristbands, symbolizing the female chromosome pair, were worn by two parents at a recent match in opposition to transgender girls playing on female teams.
While the request for a swift ruling was denied, the judge did rule in favor of one parent, Andrew Foote, who had been banned from the school district for the rest of the soccer season. Foote will now be allowed to attend his daughter’s games and pick her up from practice, as long as he refrains from engaging in any protest activity.
Judge Calls Case Legally Complex
Judge Steven McAuliffe stated that the case touches on complex and nuanced legal issues involving free speech and school policies. He indicated that he would need to hear more detailed arguments from both the parents and the school district before making a final decision. A hearing is expected to take place in late November to address the broader legal implications of the parents’ protest.
The lawsuit was brought by three parents and a grandparent of soccer players at Bow High School, who claim their rights were violated when they were barred from school grounds for wearing the wristbands. The parents argue that they were exercising their First Amendment rights to “silently express their opinion about the importance of reserving women’s sports for biological females,” according to their attorneys from the Institute for Free Speech.
School District’s Response to Protest
In response to the lawsuit, the Bow School District defended its actions, stating that the plaintiffs had targeted a 15-year-old transgender player on a visiting team, despite being warned against such behavior. According to the district, the protest was disruptive, and school officials acted reasonably by curtailing the actions of the protesting parents.
The controversy unfolded during a Sept. 17 match against Plymouth Regional High School, where the parents wore the wristbands in protest. When school officials and local law enforcement confronted them, they refused to remove the wristbands, citing their First Amendment rights. As tensions escalated, the game was briefly halted, with a referee threatening to forfeit the match if the parents did not comply.
Parents Argue First Amendment Rights
Andrew Foote and Kyle Fellers, two of the parents involved, were subsequently banned from school events and grounds. Foote received a ban for the entire fall term, while Fellers was banned for a week. In Tuesday’s hearing, Fellers acknowledged that he had referred to school officials as Nazis but maintained that he was entitled to do so under free speech protections.
“Parents don’t shed their First Amendment rights at the entrance to a school’s soccer field,” Fellers said in an earlier statement. “We wore pink wristbands to silently support our daughters and their right to fair competition. Instead of fostering open dialogue, school officials responded with threats and bans that impact our lives and our children’s lives.”
