CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday declined to grant an immediate order sought by some New Hampshire parents to allow them to wear pink wristbands with “XX” on them at girls high school soccer games to protest transgender girls playing.
But the judge did rule that one father who had been banned by the school district for the rest of the season after a protest and altercation be allowed to watch his daughter's games and pick her up from soccer practice so long as he didn't engage in any protest activity. Judge Steven McAuliffe said the notion of whether parents should be allowed to passively protest transgender players at student sports events was legally nuanced and complex, and he wanted to hear more detailed arguments presented by both the parents and the school district at the next hearing, which is likely to be held in late November. The case arose after three parents and a grandparent of soccer players at Bow High School sued the school district, saying their rights were violated when they were barred from school grounds for wearing the wristbands, which represent the female chromosome pair.
Two of the parents wore the wristbands during the second half of a Sept. 17 match against Plymouth Regional High School to “silently express their opinion about the importance of reserving women’s sports for biological females,” according to their lawsuit filed by attorneys from the Institute for Free Speech. But in its response, the Bow School District said .
