Parent banned from their kid’s soccer games after protesting a trans player

A New Hampshire superintendent has banned a parent from attending their child’s soccer games after the parent was caught protesting a transgender student’s inclusion in girls’ sports.

The Bow School District banned the parent after a group they were in allegedly targeted and harassed a transgender student, local news WMUR reported. The group reportedly wore pink wristbands that said ‘XX’ on them, in reference to chromosomes typically seen in cisgender women.

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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) “acted beyond the scope of his authority,” according to the decision.

Prior to the game, the district had warned the parents that their actions would not align with the rules of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governing body that oversees school athletics.

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Following the game, the district issued a no-trespass order, which stated that the protest was “designed to and had the effect of intimidating, threatening, harassing, and discouraging the student from playing.” It added, “The District had to obtain additional police presence to ensure order. The District had to order you to remove the armbands and as a result of your ‘protest’ and other actions, play was temporarily stopped.”

“You are hereby prohibited from entering the buildings, grounds and property of the Bow School District,” the order continued. “You are also prohibited from attending any Bow School District athletic or extra-curricular [sic] event, on or off school grounds.”

One parent told WMUR that they support the decision, stating there’s no room for the type of disruptions created by those parents. Other parents claimed their protest created no disruption at all.

One of the parents involved in the protest, Anthony Foote, said, “My daughter’s playing in the homecoming game this weekend, and I’m banned until the 23rd. I can’t watch her play in homecoming—which is ridiculous.”

He then went on to misgender the trans student, and admit that the student posed no threat to his daughter but claimed that there’s some danger for “next time” the student plays against other girls.

Zandra Hawkins, executive director of Granite State Progress, said to WMUR, “These kids are here to play matches. They all want to get on the field and play, so to have adults in the community making it something that it shouldn’t be, as you know, just harmful to all the kids on the field.”

“Schools should be places of learning and belonging, and no one, especially adults, should be threatening, intimidating, harassing students or any other person, whether it’s verbally or by their actions,” Hawkins added. “Doing so not only harms that student who’s being targeted, but every other kid who sees that happening on the sidelines. As a society, we expect more from adults, especially parents, at a youth soccer game.”

There was reportedly still sportsmanship at the game as many girls came up to support the trans girl’s inclusion. “Some of the fellow soccer players from Bow actually sent supportive letters of love and support and encouraging that student to continue to play,” said Hawkins.

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