Two New Hampshire fathers who were banned from school grounds for wearing pink wristbands marked 'XX' to protest the participation of a transgender athlete in a high school soccer game have won a federal court ruling affirming their right to silently wear the wristbands as protected speech.
U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit against the Bow school district and ruled that school officials violated the First Amendment rights of Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote when they banned the men from school property for wearing the wristbands to a 2024 soccer game. The wristbands, marked 'XX' to represent female chromosomes, were worn in opposition to a transgender girl playing on the opposing team.
Under a settlement agreement, the school district’s risk pool will pay $225,000 to the Institute for Free Speech, which represented the men, and $50,000 to the men’s attorney. Fellers and Foote will each get $17.91, a symbolic amount meant to reflect the year the First Amendment was ratified. Fellers said in a statement that he missed half of his daughter’s soccer games during her senior year because he stood up for what he believes in, and that the court recognized what happened was wrong.
School officials had argued that the district had a duty to protect students from harassment by adults on school grounds. They said Foote called himself a 'real leader' prepared to take action, and that another parent overheard others discuss heckling the transgender athlete. Both men testified that they did not intend to harass or target the player.
The court had previously blocked the men from wearing the wristbands while the case proceeded, but a federal appeals court later ruled in their favor, finding that school officials cannot favor one side of a debate involving parental speech on an issue of prominent public concern.
'Parents don't surrender their First Amendment rights when they walk into a high school soccer game,' Endel Kolde, attorney for the Institute for Free Speech, said.
An attorney for the school district did not respond to a request for comment.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Affirms that parents' silent political expression on school grounds, even on contested social issues, is protected by the First Amendment.
- The case sets a local precedent in New Hampshire about the limits of school authority to regulate adult speech at athletic events.
- The $275,000 settlement and symbolic payment signal legal accountability for school districts that restrict speech on issues of public concern.
Background
The case began in September 2024 when Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote wore pink wristbands marked 'XX' to a Bow High School girls' soccer game that included a transgender athlete on the opposing team. School officials barred them from campus, leading to a First Amendment lawsuit. The U.S. District Court initially upheld the ban, but a federal appeals court intervened in favor of the fathers before the case was resolved.
Key Perspectives
Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote (plaintiffs): Argued that their wristbands were a silent, non-disruptive expression of their opposition to transgender athletes in girls' sports. They testified they had no intent to harass or target anyone.
Bow school district (defendants): Maintained it had a duty to protect students from harassment by adults and that the fathers' actions, including statements made by Foote, created a risk of hostile conduct toward the transgender athlete.
Endel Kolde, Institute for Free Speech (attorney for plaintiffs): Emphasized that parents retain their First Amendment rights when entering school grounds, and that the ruling protects parental speech on controversial public issues.
What to Watch
- Whether the Bow school district adopts a new policy on adult expression at school events to avoid similar legal challenges.
- Potential appeal by the school district to the U.S. Supreme Court, though the settlement likely ends litigation.
- How other school districts in New Hampshire and beyond respond to similar protests at athletic events.