In the week of 27 August 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit sided with Bow, New Hampshire parents who received no-trespass orders after wearing pink “XX” wristbands at a September 2024 girls’ soccer game — a silent protest against a transgender athlete on the opposing team.
Parents including Foote and Fellers (Institute for Free Speech clients; caption often styled Fellers v. Kelley) challenged Superintendent Marcy Kelley and the Bow School District. The panel noted a silent halftime display, no evidence players saw the bands, and no disruption until officials intervened. The case was remanded for injunction and declaratory relief. FIRE filed as amicus; NHPR and the Concord Monitor covered the ruling locally.
Schools may dislike a message. They may not punish silent parent speech because they hate the viewpoint.
Citizen impact sits at the school-gate: parents who show up silently to mark sex-based categories were treated as trespassers. The First Circuit’s framing is classic First Amendment — content and viewpoint neutrality — and it lands in the same autumn as other parental-rights dockets nationwide.
Bottom line: Watch the remand for the scope of injunctive relief. Districts that reach for trespass orders over silent symbols now have a First Circuit caution tape across the bleachers.
