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Supreme Court declines to hear case on school’s ban of “Let’s Go Brandon” shirts, a phrase used as a stand-in

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 9 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

9 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal over a Michigan school district’s ban on clothing bearing the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” a slogan widely understood as a coded stand-in for profanity directed at former President Biden. Two brothers at a Tri County Schools middle school were told to remove sweatshirts with the phrase in 2022; their mother sued the district in 2023, arguing the ban violated their First Amendment rights. A federal judge and a divided 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel sided with the school, ruling it could prohibit the slogan as vulgar speech. The Supreme Court gave no reason for declining to take up the case.

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

What happened

Key points

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

  1. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on Monday.

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  2. The dispute involves two brothers at a Michigan middle school who were told to remove sweatshirts reading “Let’s Go Brandon.”

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  3. The phrase is widely understood as a coded substitute for a profane phrase about former President Biden.

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  4. The boys’ mother sued the school district and two employees in 2023, arguing the ban violated First Amendment rights.

    Reported byLeftCenter

  5. A federal judge and a split 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel (2-1) ruled the school could ban the slogan as vulgar speech.

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  6. The Supreme Court gave no reason for declining to hear the appeal.

    Reported byRight

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Whether the phrase itself constitutes vulgar or profane speech.

    The school district and lower courts held that the phrase functions as a stand-in for profanity and can be categorically prohibited as vulgar speech; the family’s attorneys argued the phrase contains no actual swear words or sexual content and is protected political speech.

  • Whether banning the slogan improperly restricts political speech.

    The family’s attorneys argued the ruling gives school officials excessive latitude to suppress political speech based on personal views of vulgarity; the school district countered that messages with lewd implications have no place in school regardless of political content.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The sole left-side coverage is an Associated Press report (also published by a center outlet) with a neutral headline describing the Court ‘rejecting’ an appeal from the boys’ mother.

    Supreme Court rejects appeal over school's ban on 'Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?' sweatshirts
    ABC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    The Hill’s own headline frames the story around the school district’s ban rather than the slogan itself, while the same AP report used by a left outlet also appears on a center outlet.

    Supreme Court declines to take up school ban on ‘Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?’ shirts
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    6 outlets

    Right-leaning outlets’ headlines emphasize that the Court ‘won’t hear’ the case brought by students who were ‘banned’ from wearing the slogan, foregrounding the students as the affected party.

    Here's a List of Cases the Supreme Court Refused to Hear Arguments for This Term
    TownhallFar 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.

  • Left1

    rebuffing an appeal

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    rebuffing an appealMore neutral: declining to hear an appeal

    ‘Rebuffing’ frames the Court’s procedural decision not to hear the case as a dismissive rejection rather than a neutral denial of certiorari.

    …“Let’s Go Brandon.” WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is rebuffing an appeal from a Michigan woman fighting a school district's ban on shirts with the…

    Used byABC News (Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Delegitimizing label

    Quoted

    Let’s Go BrandonMore neutral: use the person's name

    Nickname insult.

    …public school district can bar students from wearing clothing emblazoned with “Let’s Go Brandon," a popular conservative slogan used to mock former President Biden.

    Quoted byThe Hill (Center)The Washington Times (Right)ABC News (Left)PBS NewsHour (Center)and 5 more

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

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

  • the mother’s legal challenge
  • the lower court’s reasoning on vulgarity
  • First Amendment arguments from both sides

Leaves out

  • the 6th Circuit’s 2-1 vote breakdown
  • the school district’s own argument to the justices

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    Supreme Court rejects appeal over school's ban on 'Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?' sweatshirts

    The Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal from a Michigan woman challenging a school district’s ban on shirts with the phrase “Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?.”

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by PBS NewsHour. It counts once.

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the school district’s policy against profanity
  • the students’ ages and current enrollment
  • the procedural history through lower courts

Leaves out

  • the 6th Circuit’s specific 2-1 vote
  • the school district’s formal argument to the Supreme Court

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Supreme Court declines to take up school ban on ‘Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?’ shirts

    The Supreme Court will not hear a dispute over whether a Michigan public school district can bar students from wearing clothing emblazoned with “Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?," a popular conservative slogan used to mock former President Biden. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)
  • PBS NewsHourCenterAssociated Press report

    Supreme Court rejects Michigan woman's appeal over school's ban on 'Delegitimizing label“Let's Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?' sweatshirts

    PBS NewsHour published a report that is shown in full at ABC News. The headline is the one PBS NewsHour gave it.

    Read at PBS NewsHour (opens in a new tab)

From the right

6 outlets

Leads with

  • the students being banned from wearing the slogan
  • the slogan’s origin story and widespread use
  • the 6th Circuit’s specific reasoning and vote count

Leaves out

  • the mother’s broader First Amendment arguments about school officials’ discretion

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 6 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • TownhallFar Right

    Here's a List of Cases the Supreme Court Refused to Hear Arguments for This Term

    The Supreme Court is declining to hear cases involving COVID vaccine mandates, Second Amendment rights, and two brothers’ right to wear ‘Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?’ sweatshirts. Those are the top cases, though the Court refused to hear arguments in hundreds of others. …

    Read at Townhall (opens in a new tab)
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Case of Students Banned from Wearing 'Delegitimizing label“Let's Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?' Sweatshirts

    The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal from two Michigan middle school students barred from wearing “Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?” sweatshirts, leaving a lower-court ruling in place that the slogan could be prohibited as vulgar speech. The justices gave

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • PJ MediaFar Right

    The Supreme Court Won’t Save ‘Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?’ From the School Censors

    Two Michigan middle-school boys wore sweatshirts bearing three words that contained no profanity: “Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?.” School administrators made them take the shirts off anyway because everybody knew what the phrase meant.

    Read at PJ Media (opens in a new tab)
  • Just the NewsFar Right

    Supreme Court rejects request to hear case of school district banning 'Delegitimizing label“Let's Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?' sweatshirts

    The request was made by a Michigan mother who says the ban is a First Amendment violation.

    Read at Just the News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Supreme Court won’t hear case of students banned from wearing ‘Delegitimizing label“Let’s Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?’ shirts

    An appeals court had ruled a Michigan school district could ban the anti-Joe Biden apparel due the slogan's vulgar subtext.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Supreme Court won't hear 'Delegitimizing label“Let's Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?' case

    The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case involving public school students who were banned from wearing "Delegitimizing label“Let's Go Brandon”Nickname insult.More neutral: use the person's nameThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?" sweatshirts to class, because officials said the slogan was "profane."

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, 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

    2 hr 16 min later

    Its first report, Oct 5, 12:02 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Oct 5, 9:46 AM EDT

  • Right

    16 min later

    Its first report, Oct 5, 10:02 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterOct 5, 9:46 AM EDT
  2. The Washington TimesRightOct 5, 10:02 AM EDT
  3. ABC NewsLeftOct 5, 12:02 PM EDT
  4. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 5, 12:04 PM EDT
  5. New York PostRightOct 5, 12:50 PM EDT
  6. PJ MediaFar RightOct 5, 11:29 PM EDT
  7. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 6, 11:32 AM EDT
  8. TownhallFar RightOct 6, 3:30 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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