New Hampshire lawmakers divided over Bow pink armband protest on transgender athletes

Protesters wear pink armbands on the sidelines of the Bow girls soccer game on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.

Protesters wear pink armbands on the sidelines of the Bow girls soccer game on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. GEOFF FORESTER

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN and CHARLOTTE MATHERLY

Monitor staff

Published: 10-09-2024 4:43 PM

In recent weeks, Bow parents who wore pink armbands at soccer games to express their opposition to transgender girls participating on girls’ teams have sparked a heated debate over gender identity in sports and free speech.

At the center of this controversy is whether the Bow School District violated the parents’ First Amendment rights by issuing no-trespass orders against two parents who wore armbands marked with “XX” – a reference to the sex chromosomes typically associated with biological females.

On Tuesday, a federal court ruled that one of the parents, Kyle Fellers, who had been banned from attending all games for the season — both home and away — could attend his daughter’s soccer matches. However, the ruling came with conditions – Fellers is not allowed to protest with signs or armbands or speak to coaches or referees and must comply with school rules.

Judge Steven McAuliffe said that he needs more evidence on the context, intent, and impact from both sides to determine whether the school district violated the parents’ First Amendment rights and will hear the case next month.

This unrest comes on the heels of a contentious new law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu in July, banning biological males from competing in girls’ sports from grades 5 through 12.

However, two transgender girls — one from Pembroke and the other from Plymouth — are still allowed to play under a court order while their legal challenge against this law is ongoing in federal court.

Meanwhile, the Kearsarge School District has chosen to defy the legislation entirely.

Legislators and political candidates had different viewpoints on the issue.

State Sen. Becky Whitley, who represents Concord, Hopkinton and Bow, weighed in on the issue, highlighting the delicate balance between First Amendment rights and the need to foster a supportive environment for children.

“It’s really disappointing to me when you see a situation where adults are targeting children,” said Whitley. “It does feel like bullying, but I do think there’s some important considerations there about balancing free speech and protecting children.”

Whitley acknowledged everyone’s right to free speech but noted there are more appropriate ways to express dissent than by targeting children on the field.

“I don’t begrudge that but we also have to put some humanity on it,” she said.

On the day of the first protest, Sept. 17, Parker Tirrell, a transgender girl playing for Plymouth, faced off against Bow’s high school girls’ soccer team. Some parents were wearing pink armbands on the sidelines of the soccer game.

Gubernatorial candidates Joyce Craig and Kelly Ayotte have not commented publicly on this issue, and neither lists LGBTQ rights or freedom of speech as policy priorities on their platforms. Craig declined an interview request with the Monitor but said in a statement that all kids should be allowed to participate in school sports.

“We should leave it to experts like the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association to protect fairness in sports without imposing one-size-fits-all government mandates,” Craig said. “I’m focused on bringing Granite Staters together to take on the issues that matter most to our families — fully funding our public schools, investing in jobs and the economy, and developing more housing across the state.”

Ayotte’s campaign did not provide an interview or statement after multiple requests from the Monitor. On LGBTQ issues, she expressed support for a parental bill of rights when asked at a debate whether schools should disclose a student’s transgender status or gender presentation. As a U.S. senator, she opposed same-sex marriage.

State representatives who sponsored House Bill 1205 — the legislation that bars transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams — have voiced strong objections to the school district’s no-trespass orders against parents who wore the armbands.

Rep. Clayton Wood, one of the co-sponsors of the bill of Concord, said that wearing armbands while children are playing does not justify no-trespass orders. However, if a disruption occurred, the Bow School District would be within its rights to issue such orders. “But this is over the top,” he said. “This is almost like they’re afraid of any type of conflict.”

Rep. Wood also said it looks like the case is not on the school district’s side.

Parenmts Fellers and Anthony Foote were asked by school officials to remove their armbands. Foote complied, but Fellers refused and was escorted off the field, later holding a sign from the parking lot.

Fellers received a harsher no-trespass order, while Foote’s was lifted in four days.

The parents’ attorneys argue they were engaged in a silent, passive protest in defense of women’s sports.

Rep. Kristine Perez, who represents Londonderry and co-sponsored the bill, voiced her disapproval, stating, “They weren’t targeting the transgender student; they were supporting children’s safety. The school district acted inappropriately.”

After the issuance of the trespass orders, the next girls’ soccer game in Bow attracted supporters from across the state, coming together to back the parents and protest against transgender athletes.

However, the Bow School District took no action against attendees wearing pink armbands at the second game.

According to their policy, no action was warranted during the second game because, at the first game, a single student was specifically targeted, whereas the focus shifted to the broader issue at the second game.

In her defense of the parents, Perez said that interpreting the law as anti-LGBTQ+ is misguided. She said that it is fundamentally about ensuring the safety of all children during play.

“It has nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “It has to do with safety.”

But before this game on Sept. 17, parents had not worn the pink armbands, and Tirrell had played against Bow in previous seasons before the law was enacted.

In New Hampshire, only a handful of transgender girls in school are interested in the sports impacted by this law, and advocates for these girls have stated that such discriminatory practices must come to an end.

“There’s a difference, especially when you’re on school property with kids when your feet away from that student who’s running a soccer ball down the field,” said State Sen. Debra Altschiller, who represents towns in Rockingham County. “We know what you’re doing, and don’t insult everyone’s intelligence by saying otherwise.”