January 1, Court Lets Schools Ban Let’s Go Brandon Shirts

Wyatt’s Take

• Free speech took a hit when a court said ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ shirts could be banned in schools.
• The judges decided school leaders get to call it vulgar and shut it down, even though it’s not outright obscene.
• Dissenting voices point out this opens the door to more censorship and limits on what students can say.

When one court refused to weigh in about the ‘Only Two Genders’ shirt fight, another just made it easier for schools to ban sayings like ‘Let’s Go Brandon.’ Dissenting judges and speech advocates are raising alarms because this decision gives school leaders broad power to ban political speech by calling it inappropriate.

The ruling came from the 6th Circuit, where a split panel sided with Michigan school officials who blocked kids from wearing ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ sweatshirts, saying the phrase basically means ‘F— Joe Biden’ and so crosses the line on school rules.

Appellate judges disagreed over Supreme Court precedent. The majority leaned on a case where a student got in trouble for a suggestive speech, lumping ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ with language considered too crude for school.

The majority admitted the slogan’s meaning depends on who you ask, but leaned on its perceived intent and coded message as grounds for censorship.

“Some saw it as merely a euphemism for what the crowd really said,” the majority said. “Others used it as a shibboleth to express antipathy” toward Biden and his policies, and yet others “used it to question what they perceived as liberal bias in the media—based on the theory that NBC had been trying to hide the anti-Biden sentiment on display at Talladega.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which backs the students, says the fight isn’t over. They call the phrase a ‘purposely non-profane euphemism’ and warn that this ruling lets school officials squash political talk even when it’s not actually vulgar.

Dissenting Judge John Bush said this was the wrong call, arguing that student shirts challenging the White House are a lot like black antiwar armbands in the famous ‘Tinker’ Supreme Court case, and shouldn’t be treated the same as flat-out dirty jokes.

Bush was also critical that the ruling is at odds with other courts, creating confusion and more reason for the Supreme Court to step in. He said expanding school power to block ‘ambiguously lewd’ speech doesn’t fit with how the law treats political messages on shirts, like ones supporting breast cancer awareness or unions.

Testimony showed kids from all sides had worn political shirts before with no problem, but these school leaders claimed ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ crossed a line because of implied bad language.

The ruling points out that schools get to decide what counts as crossing the vulgarity line—just like in cases over school newspapers and cheerleaders who cussed on social media.

The majority drew a line between single words and slogans, insisting that even if you swap in ‘heck’ for ‘hell,’ the message sticks, so the school can treat it as inappropriate.

Free speech groups say this could mean more censorship of anything school leaders don’t like, as long as they see it as possibly vulgar, raising big questions about what’s left of students’ rights.

Stay alert to what’s happening at your local schools. When courts let school leaders decide what’s “allowed” speech, it hits home for parents and students alike.

Wyatt Matters

This fight touches on real, everyday freedom – the kind folks in Middle America care about. Letting bureaucrats decide what our kids can say in school chips away at free speech and silences honest voices, right when we need them most.

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