In New Hampshire, two men, Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote, who protested against a transgender girl participating in a girls' soccer match, were ordered not to wear wristbands or display signs during their ongoing lawsuit against the school district. The court ruled that their wristbands, which symbolized female chromosomes, could be interpreted as intimidating towards the transgender athlete, Parker Tirrell. Despite their claims of neutrality, the judge denied their intention and emphasized the importance of protecting all students from harassment at school events.
U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe noted that the protest wristbands could intimidate transgender athletes and thus violated school policies against harassment.
Fellers and Foote's claims of neutrality for their protest were dismissed as implausible by the court, given the symbolic nature of their wristbands.
The decision emphasizes the fine line schools tread in balancing free speech with the need to protect students from harassment.
Despite removing their wristbands, Fellers was seen later holding a sign that could also be viewed as targeting transgender athletes.
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