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Bow school district agrees to $275,000 in fees over XX wristband ban

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

4 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Man in dark suit gestures while speaking outside federal courthouse, wearing pink XX wristband, reporter's microphone visible.
Image via Fox NewsHow images are chosenReport this image

U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe approved a settlement on Thursday ending more than two years of litigation over pink “XX” wristbands worn at a 2024 Bow school soccer game, the Associated Press reports. Fox News, PJ Media and Reason report that the judgment declares the district violated the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights. The district’s risk pool will pay $275,000 in fees and costs; the AP reports that $225,000 goes to the Institute for Free Speech and $50,000 to the plaintiffs’ attorney. The AP reports the plaintiffs may silently wear the wristbands at games. Plaintiff Kyle Fellers says the ban kept him from attending half of his daughter’s soccer games.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A federal judgment declares that the Bow school district violated parents’ First Amendment rights by barring the wristbands.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Right
    Reason
    Far Right
    Fox News, PJ Media

  2. The district’s risk pool will pay $275,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs under the settlement.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Right
    Reason
    Far Right
    Fox News, PJ Media

  3. The district barred parents from wearing the wristbands at a 2024 girls’ soccer game.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Far Right
    Fox News, PJ Media

  4. Plaintiffs may silently wear the wristbands at district sporting events, according to the AP.

    One outletThe Boston Globe· Far Left

  5. Kyle Fellers says the ban kept him from attending half of his daughter’s soccer games.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Far Right
    PJ Media

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports a judgment that the Bow district violated parents’ First Amendment rights and must pay $275,000 in fees and costs. The left’s only coverage, an AP report, frames it as a win for fathers opposing transgender athletes; right-side outlets stress the ban on parents.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Only left-side coverage is an AP report carried by The Boston Globe, headlined as New Hampshire dads who protested transgender athletes winning a court victory; the wording is AP’s, not the Globe’s own.

    New Hampshire dads who protested transgender athletes by wearing pink wristbands score court victory
    The Boston GlobeFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    Right-side headlines lead with the ban and the $275K bill; the far-right Fox News and PJ Media say the district banned parents, while Reason uses legal terms.

    JACKSON THOMPSON: NH school district pays $275K after banning fathers' for 'XX' wristbands at soccer game
    Fox NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right1

    Apparently, defending girls’ sports required parents

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    Apparently, defending girls’ sports required parentsMore neutral: The piece reports that parents wore wristbands to protest a sports policy and were barred from games

    The sarcastic framing mocks the parents’ stated purpose and minimizes their stake instead of reporting it.

    Apparently, defending girls’ sports required parents to defend their right to wear something smaller than the…

    Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • parents’ protest against transgender athletes in girls’ sports
  • a First Amendment court victory for two fathers
  • the right to silently wear the wristbands
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Boston GlobeFar LeftAssociated Press report

    New Hampshire dads who protested transgender athletes by wearing pink wristbands score court victory

    CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Two fathers who oppose allowing transgender athletes to play high school sports will be allowed to wear pink wristbands marked “XX” to games, a federal judge said Thursday in an order ending more than two years of litigation. …

    Read at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • the district banning parents over wristbands
  • the $275,000 cost to the district
  • a judgment that the district violated First Amendment rights
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    JACKSON THOMPSON: NH school district pays $275K after banning fathers' for 'XX' wristbands at soccer game

    Bow School District agreed to a federal judgment declaring it violated families' First Amendment rights over silent "XX" wristband protests.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • ReasonRight

    Declaratory Judgment + $275K in Attorney Fees in Settlement of N.H. "XX" Wristbands Case

    The Institute for Free Speech, which litigated the case, reports on the settlement agreement: Take off the wristbands or leave.…

    Read at Reason (opens in a new tab)
  • PJ MediaFar RightOpinion

    They Banned Parents Over Pink Wristbands, and the Legal Bill Reached $275,000

    Kyle Fellers missed half his daughter’s senior-year soccer games after a dispute over a pink wristband. Two years later, Bow School District has a federal judgment declaring that it violated the parents’ First Amendment rights, plus a settlement providing $275,000 in legal fees …

    Read at PJ Media (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    21 hr 19 min later

    Its first report, Nov 6, 8:49 AM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Reason, Nov 5, 11:30 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. ReasonRightNov 5, 11:30 AM EST
  2. Fox NewsFar RightNov 6, 5:44 AM EST
  3. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 6, 8:49 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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