Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote arrived at the Bow High School girls soccer game against Plymouth Regional High School on Sept. 17, wearing hot pink armbands with two capital black letter “X’s” drawn on. The letters are a reference to the sex chromosomes affiliated with biological females.
Fellers and Foote, parents of Bow girls’ soccer players, were asked to remove their armbands and were later issued no-trespass orders for “targeting a student on the soccer field.” These orders prevented them from attending games at any school district throughout the state of New Hampshire.
Foote’s order was lifted September 21, while Fellers’ remains in effect until the end of the fall sports season. Foote, his wife Nicole Foote, Fellers and a family member of Fellers filed a lawsuit against the school district for stifling their First Amendment rights.
At a Sept. 24 soccer game in Bow, where they did not play Plymouth, pink armbands were worn by at least 20 spectators, where they crossed their arms together to form a letter “X” as they watched from the sidelines.
Their protest comes from concern about a transgender athlete playing on the Plymouth girls’ team, as a recent law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu prohibits athletes assigned male at birth to compete on female sports teams throughout grades 5-12.
A school board meeting in Bow on Oct. 14 allowed parents, Bow residents or citizens of neighboring towns to express their opinions. Alex Zerba, parent of a Bow girls’ soccer player, stated, “We don’t want you supporting our girls the way you are. We are asking you to stop your protesting. It is hurting our girls.”
Parker Tirrell, a transgender girl who plays for Plymouth, has never faced protests previous to the game against Bow. Prior to the Plymouth game this season, no Bow spectators wore pink armbands in protest.
Protestors argue their purpose is to “protect young women,” as they feel that transgender females are physically stronger because of their biological makeup, and could pose a risk of injury to other female athletes during games.
However, Marcy Kelley, superintendent of the Bow and Dunbarton school district said that these protests were “not intended to support women in sports but were a protest against a specific player.”
Steve Herbert, a Bow resident, argues the school board “silenced somebody who had a different opinion.” He stated, “There was nothing wrong. There were no voices, there were no mean words, it wasn’t directed at anybody.”
The subject of transgender athletes is often touchy, but it is easy to see multiple perspectives on this specific situation.
It is understandable why some parents are upset. Men and women are much different biologically, and spectators who are concerned feel this reason puts women at a disadvantage. Furthermore, protestors are upset because it is against the law, and seeing an athlete breaking this causes confusion.
However, this form of protesting is not the right way to voice opinions. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but publicly protesting in this form can make the transgender student feel targeted. They can be led to believe that protestors think they are an awful person for being transgender, leading to severe emotional impact.
If the protestors really did this out of support for women’s sports, they would take it directly to the legislators instead of in the presence of a transgender athlete.
As a cross country runner, it is difficult knowing how to feel in this situation. Since men and women are biologically diverse, my body cannot move as fast as my male counterparts. It has felt unfair in previous races having to compete with athletes who are physically stronger because of their biological makeup.
However, this is not the fault of the transgender athlete, but instead the responsibility of our legislators. There is a big misconception that many transgender athletes are only transitioning to gain an advantage in sports, which is blatantly false. They are running where they are told to run.
Concerns about transgender athletes should be brought directly to legislators instead of making it a concern at the high school level.
Above all, we are all human. No human should ever have to feel targeted for who they are or what they believe in, and high school athletics are built from a base of friendship and support. Protesting publicly diminishes that support; concerns should be brought to a higher level of authority.
Jaden Johnson can be contacted at
