School district defends decision to ban parents who wore ‘XX’ wristbands at girls’ game with trans athlete
Nearly two months after banning parents who wore “XX” armbands during a high school football game against a transgender athlete, the school district is confident in its decision to do so.
Anthony Foote of Bow, New Hampshire, told the New Hampshire Journal that he received a violation notice from Bow and Dunbarton School District Superintendent Marcy Kelley after he wore pro-girls armbands to his daughter’s school soccer game high. in September.
Foote, his wife Nicole, Kyle Fellers, and Eldon Rash then filed a federal lawsuit against the Bow School District, Superintendent of Schools Marcy Kelley, Principal Matt Fisk, Athletic Director Mike Desilets, Bow Police Lieutenant Phil Lamy and football referee Steve Rossetti within days. . later on.
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A group of New Hampshire parents are suing a school district for being kicked out of a girls’ soccer game for protesting the participation of a transgender player. (Getty Images)
The “silent protest” at Bow High School, the lawsuit says, is intended to “show solidarity” with the Bow team and oppose a policy that allows a transgender girl to play on Plymouth’s team.
Fellers and Foote testified Thursday that they did not intend to harass or target a transgender player on the opposing team, but the school district said otherwise.
Kelley and Desilets believe that the protest will not end on the wrists, saying that they have received emails with strong words from Foote in which he calls himself a “real leader” who is willing to take action. They also said that Foote urged others to attend the game on social media.
In the days leading up to the game, one parent told school officials that he had heard others talking about showing up to the game in costume and attracting a transgender player.
“If we suspect there’s some kind of threat … we don’t wait for it to happen,” Kelley said Friday.
The “silent protest” at Bow High School, the lawsuit says, is intended to “show solidarity” with the Bow team and oppose a policy that allows a transgender girl to play on Plymouth’s team.
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Kelley also pushed back on the idea that the plaintiffs were simply expressing support for their daughters and female teammates in general, noting that they chose one game involving a transgender player to start wearing wristbands.
“This was planned and intended,” he said. “If we allow torture, we have a responsibility.”
The federal judge in this case, Steven McAuliffe, pushed back against the parents by repeatedly referring to the athlete as a boy on Thursday.
“You seem to be going out of your way to suggest that there is no such thing as a trans girl,” McAuliffe said during the hearing.
The transgender player in question, Parker Tirrell, and another student-athlete are challenging a state law that bars transgender athletes in grades 5 through 12 from playing on teams that match their gender. The judge decided in their case that they can play sports during the trial that wants to change the law.
The Bow School District has defended its decision to ban those wearing “XX” wristbands from the game. (Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images)
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Gov. Chris Sununu, who signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in July, said it “ensures the fairness and safety of women’s sports by maintaining the integrity and equality of competition in athletic competitions.”
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj, Landon Mion, Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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