Brickbat: Red Card Penalty
A federal judge in New Hampshire ruled against a group of parents who wanted to wear pink wristbands with "XX" (symbolizing female chromosomes) at Bow High School soccer games to protest a transgender girl playing on an opposing girls' team, denying their request to override the school district's ban on such displays. The parents sued after receiving no-trespass orders for wearing the armbands at a September 2024 game. They claimed the order violated their First Amendment rights and the wristbands were a "passive statement" supporting women's sports. But U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe sided with the school, saying the wristbands could be seen as harassment targeting the transgender student, as they were only worn at the game in which she was playing. The ruling allows parents to attend games but bans the wristbands.