CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — School district officials who punished two parents for wearing pink wristbands marked “XX” during a football game featuring a transgender player defended their decision Friday during a hearing on whether to take similar action can do while they are being charged.
Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote were banned from school grounds after the September game by officials who viewed the wristbands as harassment or intimidation of a transgender player. They later sued the Bow school district, and although the bans have since expired, a judge will decide whether the plaintiffs can wear the wristbands and carry signs at upcoming school events, including basketball games, swimming meets and a music festival. concert while the case continues.
Both men said Thursday that they did not intend to harass or otherwise assault a transgender player on the opposing team, and their lawyers have argued that they were doing nothing more than silently expressing support for reserving girls' sports to women who were born as a woman. But school officials testified Friday that they had reason to believe the men wouldn't stop there.
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Superintendent Marcy Kelley and Bow High School Athletic Director Michael Desiletes described receiving strongly worded emails from Foote in which he called himself a “real leader” who was willing to take action and saw his social media posts encouraging others to attend the match. In the days leading up to the game, another parent told school officials she had heard others talking about showing up to the game in dresses and harassing the transgender player.
“If we suspect there is some sort of threat … we don't wait for that to happen,” Kelley said, likening it to how school officials didn't wait until a fight broke out between two students before intervening if they got wind of it got. it in advance.
Kelley also pushed back on the idea that the plaintiffs were simply showing support for their daughters and their teammates in general, noting that they chose the only game involving a transgender player to start wearing the wristbands.
“This was organized and purposeful,” she said. “If we allowed harassment, we would be liable.”
The transgender player in question, Parker Tirrell, and another student athlete are challenging the state law that bans transgender athletes in grades 5 through 12 from teams that align with their gender identity. A federal judge ruled in their case that they can exercise during the ongoing lawsuit that aims to overturn the law.
Governor Chris Sununu, who signed the Fairness in Women's Sports Act into law in July, has said it “ensures fairness and safety in women's sports by preserving the integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” About half the states have taken similar measures.
