CONCORD, N.H. (AP) 鈥 Two New Hampshire fathers who were barred from school district events for wearing pink wristbands marked 鈥淴X鈥 to represent female chromosomes insisted at a federal court hearing Thursday that they didn't set out to harass or otherwise target a transgender soccer player at the game they attended.
But a judge hearing the case suggested the message the parents sent may matter more than their intentions.
Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote after being banned from school grounds for wearing the wristbands at their daughters' soccer game in September. The no-trespass orders have since expired, but a judge is deciding whether the plaintiffs should be allowed to wear the wristbands and carry signs at upcoming school events, including basketball games, swim meets and a music concert, while the case proceeds.
Testifying at Thursday's hearing, both men said that they did not view the wristbands as a protest against Parker Tirrell, a transgender girl on the opposing team, but rather as a show of support for their daughters and their teammates. U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe questioned whether there is a meaningful distinction and whether their intentions matter.
鈥淪ometimes the message you think you鈥檙e sending might not be the message that is being sent,鈥 he said.
McAuliffe asked Foote whether it occurred to him that a transgender person might interpret the pink XX wristbands as an attempt to invalidate their existence.
鈥淚f he鈥檚 a trans female, pink might be a color he likes,鈥 Foote said.
McAuliffe also noted that while both plaintiffs said they had no problem with transgender people outside the issue of sports, they repeatedly referred to the athlete in question as a boy.
鈥淵ou seem to go out of your way to suggest there鈥檚 no such thing as a trans girl,鈥 McAuliffe said.
Foote disagreed, saying it was 鈥渓ike learning a new language鈥 to refer to transgender people.
In a separate courtroom earlier Thursday, another judge held a hearing on a lawsuit brought by Parker Tirrell and another student challenging the state law that in grades 5 to 12 from teams that align with their gender identity. It requires schools to designate all teams as either girls, boys or coed, with eligibility determined based on students鈥 birth certificates 鈥渙r other evidence.鈥
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty that the teens can try out for and play on girls school sports teams. The order only applies to those two individuals for now as they seek to overturn the Fairness in Women鈥檚 Sports Act on behalf of all transgender girl students in New Hampshire.
Lawyers for the teens said in court Thursday they hoped the matter could go to trial and be resolved before the start of the next school year in September. They said the teens鈥 school districts and others in the state have asked for guidance regarding the statute. Lawyers for the state said they needed more time to prepare.
Judge Talesha Saint-Marc suggested the timing of the trial was ambitious and asked that both sides talk further about scheduling.
Gov. Chris Sununu, who signed the Fairness in Women鈥檚 Sports Act into law in July, has said it 鈥渆nsures fairness and safety in women鈥檚 sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.鈥 About half of states have adopted
In the Bow case, school district officials have said they acted appropriately in sanctioning the parents for conduct they knew violated school policy at athletic events. They'll explain their evidence on Friday. On Thursday, the plaintiff's lawyer, Endel Kolde, accused the district of 鈥渂reathtaking鈥 overreach by asserting that the wristbands target transgender students in general, regardless of whether such students were present at the events.
鈥淭his is viewpoint discrimination, and it鈥檚 very clear they鈥檙e proud of it,鈥 Kolde said.
Kolde initially conceded that a school district can limit speech 鈥渢o some degree鈥 to protect children from harassment, but he stopped short of agreeing with the judge鈥檚 claim that yelling 鈥渢ransgender students out鈥 at a particular player would be subject to such regulation.
鈥淚t might be,鈥 he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to get you to concede the obvious,鈥 McAuliffe said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 less than obvious to me,鈥 Kolde said.
Feller, the first witness in the case involving the wristbands, said he purchased them thinking his daughter and her teammates would wear them, but ended up wearing one himself after they declined. After being told to leave the game, he stood in the parking lot with a sign that said 鈥淧rotect women鈥檚 sports for female athletes.鈥
鈥淚 wanted to support women鈥檚 sports and I believed what was going on was a travesty,鈥 he said.
