This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Alex Zerba stood before a crowded school board meeting in Bow on Monday night, scanning the seated crowd of unfamiliar faces around her in the Bow High School auditorium.
“We don't want you supporting our girls the way you are,” said Zerba, a parent of a girls varsity soccer player. “You are not a parent of any of these girls on the soccer team. We are asking you to stop your protesting. It is hurting our girls.”
The school board meeting became a platform for parents and residents from Bow and neighboring towns to voice their opinions — both in support and in opposition to the school district’s handling of a recent protest concerning the participation of a transgender athlete on the Plymouth Regional High School girls soccer team.
At the game in Bow on Sept. 17, two parents, Anthony Foote and Kyle Fellers wore pink armbands featuring the letters “XX,” a reference to the sex chromosomes associated with biological females to protest against the transgender girls participating in girls’ sports teams. The parents were asked to remove their armbands and were later issued no-trespass orders for targeting a student on the soccer field.
Last week, at another soccer game in Bow — where no transgender athletes were playing — at least 20 spectators from across the state arrived wearing the pink armbands. They continued to voice their opposition against transgender players participating in girls' sports, asserting that their protests were to protect young women.
But many in the community, including Zerba, said that such actions only harm the very girls they claim to support.
“This is not the right way to go about doing things,” said Zerba. “If you have an issue with a transgender on a team, which is not even on the Bow team, take it up with your legislators.”
The no-trespass orders against Foote and Fellers barred them from entering any district property and attending games. Foote’s order was lifted on Sept. 21. Fellers’ order, however, remains in effect until the end of the fall sports season.
Earlier on Monday, Fellers, Foote and his wife Nicole Foote and a family member of Fellers filed a lawsuit accusing the school district and its staff of stifling their First Amendment rights.
“We don't want you supporting our girls the way you are. You are not a parent of any of these girls on the soccer team. We are asking you to stop your protesting. It is hurting our girls.”Alex Zerba, a parent of a girls varsity soccer player
While Steve Herbert, a Bow resident, recognizes the various perspectives on the issue of transgender athletes in sports, he said a more pressing concern is the school district’s infringement on parents' rights to peacefully protest.
“I'm disappointed in every one of you,” said Herbert looking at the school board members. “You just silenced somebody who had a different opinion. There was nothing wrong. There was no voices, there was no mean words. It wasn't directed at anybody.”
Parker Tirrell, a transgender girl who plays for Plymouth Regional High School, has faced Bow in previous seasons without any protests from parents.
The difference was the recent signing of a law by Gov. Chris Sununu in July, which prohibits students assigned male at birth from competing on female sports teams in grades 5 through 12.
Prior to the match against Plymouth, no pink armbands were worn by parents in Bow to protest transgender students participating in girls' sports.
In an interview, Marcy Kelley, superintendent of the Bow and Dunbarton school district had said that the pink armbands worn during the game against Plymouth Regional High School were not intended to support women in sports but were a protest against a specific player.
At the meeting, there were calls for Kelley to rescind the no-trespass orders and issue an apology, with some residents saying that doing so would help save the town money on legal fees.
At the next school board elections, Herbert said that the district’s actions of the school board would be remembered when candidates seek the community’s support. He emphasized that the board is prioritizing personal views over the perspectives of the entire community.
“I don’t think you deserve to be up there,” said Herbert. “So I hope you enjoyed your time on the board. I am personally going to do everything I can to make sure that we have unbiased people who can read something as simple as the First Amendment.”
With the challenges students face today — ranging from school shootings to the accompanying stress and anxiety — school board member Melynie Klunk emphasized the need for the community to be more empathetic toward students.
“My concern is people are yelling at somebody on the side of a field that could possibly be very triggering,” said Klunk. “If that could be really scary for every single one of those kids because I got to tell you I didn't worry about that growing up.”
Most of the protests against transgender girls participating in girls' sports stem from the belief that transgender girls are physically stronger and may pose a risk of injury to their counterparts during play.
Shannon Bader said the narrative suggesting girls are at risk of getting hurt needs to end.
“Do not diminish their athleticism and their grit and their dedication with rhetoric about fragility and the need for protection,” said Bader. “Please remember their strength and their power and their athleticism as you think about their decisions for this district and for all of our women.”
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