A Catholic girls’ soccer team in New Hampshire refused to play a game against a team with a transgender opponent, even though state law prohibits male players from participating in girls’ sports.
On Friday, Bishop Brady High School boycott a game against Kearsarge Regional High School. Kearsarge is one of two New Hampshire schools with a transgender player.
Maelle Jacques, a male player who identifies as a female, stands apart from many of the high school girls he’s competing against for, among other things, his considerable height of nearly six feet. Why is Jacques on the field if a state law prevents males from playing in girls’ sports?
That’s because Judge Landya McCafferty, an Obama-appointed judge, issued an injunction in September that would allow Jacques and the state’s other high school trans athlete, Parker Tirrell, to continue to play pending the outcome of the suit to block the state’s ban against trans athletes.
The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” or House Bill 1205, was signed by New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu in July. The law explicitly prohibits males from competing in girls’ sports.
Judge McCafferty’s injunction also allowed Tirrell to compete for his Plymouth Regional High School. This move created a confrontation between parents, the school, and the police after school officials had police ask parents to remove armbands protesting Tirrell’s involvement.
The boycott comes at a time when more girls’ and women’s sports teams are choosing to forfeit games rather than play against male opponents. In the NCAA, five women’s volleyball teams have refused to play against San Jose State University (SJSU) due to the presence of a trans player on their roster.
The most recent school to boycott, Nevada, is facing off against its own school. Administrators have insisted that the game against SJSU be played despite a team vote in which players decided not to play.
As of this writing, the Nevada players are holding their ground and still refusing to play the scheduled October 26 match despite warnings from the university,