A New Hampshire school district has settled with parents who were banned from school property and events after wearing wristbands to protest a transgender player's participation in a girls' soccer game in 2024, according to court records.
The Bow School District's risk pool will pay $275,000 in attorney's fees and $17.91 to each plaintiff, a reference to the year the country ratified
the First Amendment.The matter centers on a September 2024 soccer game, during which Anthony Foote handed out wristbands with "XX," a reference to female sex chromosomes, to attendees to protest the player's involvement. The school's athletic director, Michael Desilets, asked Foote to remove the wristband, and he complied after initially refusing, court records said.
Another parent, Kyle Fellers, also initially refused to do so but complied after being told by a police lieutenant he "must remove the wristband or leave the game."
Fellers' father-in-law, Eldon Rash, then put the wristband on. Referee Steve Rosetti stopped the game to say “play would not resume" until Rash removed it, according to court records.
Bow School District soon issued no-trespass orders that banned Fellers and Foote from entering district property or attending sporting or other extracurricular events. Fellers, Anthony, Rash and Nicole Foote, another parent who expressed opposition to transgender athletes in girls' sports, represented by the Institute for Free Speech, collectively sued the district, as well as individuals representing the school, the police department, and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association later that month.
A district court found that the school district's rules were "reasonable, viewpoint neutral and consistent with the schools' pedagogical goals." The appeals court disagreed, saying there was no evidence any player saw the wristbands and that the display "fell short of harassment and disruption."
The final judgment, signed by U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe, said the district violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment right to wear the wristband at school sporting events and dismissed the case in light of the settlement.
"This was never just about sports," Fellers said in the Institute for Free Speech's Nov. 5 news release. "It's about every parent's right to peacefully express views without being punished for it."
Institute for Free Speech senior attorney Del Kolde said he hoped the parents' win would "make other school officials think twice before silencing one side of a public debate."
The organization also said the parents plan to wear the wristbands at a state playoff game for the Bow High School girls' varsity soccer team on Nov. 6.
The school district declined USA TODAY's request for comment.
BrieAnna Frank's role covering First Amendment issues at USA TODAY is made possible by a collaboration among Freedom Forum, Journalism Funding Partners and the USA TODAY Network. Freedom Forum does not provide editorial input. Reach BrieAnna at bjfrank@usatoday.com and @brieannafrank on X and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NH school district settles transgender athlete protest lawsuit
