Bow administrators decided to double down after they issued No-Tresspass orders to parents who attended a girl’s soccer game in the Fall. Three spectators wore pink wristbands with XX written on them to express their support for girls-only soccer. The three pushed back and took the school district to court, citing their right to free speech.
At the next soccer game, about 50 people wore wristbands to support the parents who were punished. I was one of those in attendance.
We were all polite and friendly and enjoyed watching the game. All of us were wearing the pink wristbands with XX written on them, and there were no disruptions or actual protests. Many of us had fun watching the girl’s soccer team and stood behind the parents in attendance. WMUR was there to report on the people who showed up, so if you read their report, there is no evidence of any disruptions or vocal protests.
We had all discussed going to the game to make a statement of support for the parents who were issued the no-tresspass orders. We all went with the intention of wearing the wristbands for support, and then to enjoy the game.
Bow administrators are making it sound as if this was some sort of vocal protest, where there were disruptions by those who attended the game. They are using this excuse to continue their policy to ban or censor a parent’s viewpoint when it comes to biological boys playing on the girl’s soccer teams.
One can certainly understand that if we began shouting and making a scene, that would need to be addressed. Students playing sports shouldn’t be subjected to that kind of treatment. Those who want to take it a step further can certainly do that outside school grounds.
Had Bow administrators had to deal with those kinds of disruptions, we wouldn’t have lent support to the parents who were censored and banned from the school events. Now taxpayers are on the hook for legal fees as the administration doubles down to fight this case in court.
The Concord Monitor is now reporting:
Protests from outsiders and potential harm to students are driving the Bow School District’s continuing efforts to prevent parents from resuming pink armband demonstrations against transgender athletes, according to documents filed in a federal court case challenging the district’s actions to stop the protest last year.
And,
Among the participants were members of Moms for Liberty, a group that advocates for parental rights.
And,
“The district should not be forced to endure tens or hundreds of so-called ‘silent’ protesters who, just by sheer number of wristbands and signs, create an environment that is hostile to the educational setting of the event,” wrote the school district in its recent court filing. “This scenario is not far-fetched given that Moms for Liberty descended upon a Bow soccer match this fall to undertake their own protest after word spread about the events at the September 17 match.”
So what is next? What if parents show up with a T-shirt that has XX on it? What if someone shows up with a T-Shirt that has a Pride Flag on it? What about a T-Shirt that has the American flag on it? Where does this end? Someone may take offense to any of those symbols on a T-shirt.
Protests involve action. Let the actions of individuals be judged. If spectators are disruptive, then deal with those actions. People still have the right to wear clothing that express their views without a tyrannical taxpayer funded school staff silencing them.
