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CV NEWS FEED // A group of parents are suing a New Hampshire school district after they were banned from attending future soccer games because they wore wristbands in support of female sports during a high school girls’ soccer match where a male player was on the opposite team.
Parents filed the lawsuit against the Bow School District on September 30, according to an emailed press release from United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE), “after being punished and threatened over a ‘silent protest’ standing up for women’s sports.”
The lawsuit states that two parents “decided to attend the game and silently express their opinion about the importance of reserving women’s sports for biological females” by wearing pink wristbands with “XX” written on them. These parents distributed the wristbands to other parents who wanted to wear them during the second half of the game.
The lawsuit states that there was no marching, signs, or shouting. “Beyond these wristbands, nothing indicated that any of the parents were protesting,” the lawsuit argues.
The USPIE press release reports that the lawsuit claims that the school district “conspired” with a referee and police officer to intimidate parents who were wearing the wristbands.
According to the press release, the school district’s policy allows school officials to monitor the behavior of anyone on the school’s property, and the school’s athletic handbook allows officials to regulate the speech of those attending games.
The Daily Caller states that a mother of one of the Bow players approached the athletic director several days before the game, expressing her concern about the safety of the girls competing against a biological male. The athletic director told her that the school could not do anything because of court laws.
“The athletic director sent an email the night before the game stating that following the handbook, they would ‘impose obligations’ on any actions from the sideline, noting that any ‘inappropriate signs, references or language’ would not be allowed,” the Daily Caller reports.
USPIE’s press release also relates that New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed a law in July banning biological male students from competing in female sports in 5th-12th grade, but the law was struck down by a federal judge, who temporarily prevented the State Department of Education from enforcing the law.
A report from WMUR News states that Lindsay Ashooh, a parent who was present at the game, clarified that the “protest” was silent.
“Nothing was being said. Nothing. The ref came over and stopped the game and said, ‘Take off those wristbands,'” she stated.
She added, “They’re are [sic] pink wristbands, and it’s supporting female sports. It’s not protesting.”
WMUR also reported that one parent who wore pink wristbands was issued a no-trespass order.
In the press release, USPIE Founder and President Sheri Few commended the parents for taking legal action.
“The only way to curb these kinds of authoritarian overreaches is to make perpetrators face legal penalties for their actions,” Few said.
She added, “It’s past time that schools were forced to abandon these insane sexual policies that ignore biology, morality and common sense and put girls and women at risk. USPIE encourages more parents to stand up and point out that this sick emperor has no clothes.”
