New Hampshire school bans parents for protesting transgender student-athlete, report says

BOW, N.H. (TND) — A New Hampshire high school on Thursday banned multiple parents from its campus for protesting a transgender student’s participation in a girls soccer game, according to outlet NHJournal.

Bow High School reportedly barred the parents from entering any of its buildings, grounds and property, including the athletic fields, after they wore pink arm bands at a Tuesday game. The bands were designed to protest the involvement of a transgender player on the opposing team, according to NH Journal.

NH Journal said the bands featured two of the letter X, meant to correspond with female chromosomes.

The high school reportedly wrote in a letter to Anthony Foote, one of the parents, that he was also banned from any extracurricular events, whether they be on or off campus.

You participated and led the protest, which was designed to and had the effect of intimidating, threatening, harassing, and discouraging that student from playing,” the letter reportedly read.

The arm bands reportedly violated the school’s policies against threats, harassment and intimidation, as well as the disruption of any activities.

“The District had to obtain additional police presence to ensure order,” the letter said, according to NHJournal. “The District had to order you to remove the armbands and as a result of your ‘protest’ and other actions, play was temporarily stopped.”

Foote called his ban “ridiculous,” noting that he was concerned about any safety risk the transgender student posed to his daughter, NH Journal reported.

“I don’t care what [the student] wants to do with his life. What I do care about is that my daughter could be physically hurt, maybe not by [the student] because he’s not the biggest kid on the field. But there’s a chance that next time will be different,” Foote reportedly explained.

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The incident came a week after a federal judge temporarily blocked a New Hampshire law barring transgender females from playing in sports based on gender identity. Some opponents of the law argued it treated transgender athletes unfairly.

State Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham voted against it, accusing the New Hampshire government of bullying transgender athletes.

“I think when the full force of the New Hampshire state government comes crashing down on the heads of 10 to 17-year-old transgender girls, that’s pretty unsafe,” she said.

The Bow & Dunbarton School District did not return a request for comment by Crisis in the Classroom by the time this article was published.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.