A middle schooler’s bold stand for free speech just got stonewalled by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2023, Liam Morrison, a seventh-grader at Nichols Middle School, was sent home for wearing a shirt declaring the existence of “only two genders,” sparking a legal battle that’s now stalled, as Breitbart reports. His case, backed by conservative firebrands, exposes the woke stranglehold on public schools.
The Supreme Court refused to hear Morrison’s case, leaving the lower court’s ruling intact, which favored the school’s crackdown. Liam’s parents, Christopher and Susan, sued Nichols Middle School, alleging violations of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) championed the cause, but the high court’s ruling leaves students’ speech rights in limbo.
Back in 2023, Morrison’s shirt caused a stir at Nichols, a school that proudly pushes pro-LGBTQ+ events like “PRIDE Spirit Week.” Administrators sent the seventh-grader home, claiming that his message disrupted their agenda. Apparently, free expression stops where progressive dogma begins.
Not one to back down, Morrison returned with a redacted shirt, swapping “two” for “censored.” The school still forced him to change, doubling down on its speech-squashing ways. This isn’t discipline -- it’s ideological conformity dressed up as policy.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit sided with the school in June 2024, shrugging off Morrison’s rights. The ruling leaned on a warped reading of the 1969 Tinker case, which protects student speech unless it causes major disruption. Nichols’ fragile feelings don’t clear that bar.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito weren’t having it. Thomas called the First Circuit’s decision a distortion of free speech law, demanding Supreme Court review. Alito warned that students are now stuck in schools “without the full panoply of First Amendment rights.”
Alito didn’t stop there. “Some lower courts are confused” on balancing student rights and school rules, he wrote, urging clarity for “students, teachers, and administrators.” His dissent scorched the court for letting this confusion fester.
The justices pointed to Tinker, which says schools can’t silence speech unless it materially disrupts learning or invades others’ rights. Nichols’ pro-LGBTQ+ posters and pride events didn’t get the same scrutiny as Morrison’s shirt. Selective censorship, anyone?
Alito also argued that if schools push social issues like gender identity, they must tolerate dissenting views. “Viewpoint discrimination in the lower grades is more objectionable” because young kids are impressionable, he said. Schools shouldn’t be indoctrination camps.
ADF senior counsel David Cortman was “disappointed” that the Supreme Court dodged the case. “Students don’t lose their free speech rights” at school, he insisted. Yet Nichols’ actions suggest otherwise, punishing Morrison for daring to dissent.
Cortman highlighted the school’s hypocrisy. Nichols promotes its gender views through posters and events, encouraging student expression, so long as it aligns with their narrative. Morrison’s shirt, though, crossed an invisible line.
“The government cannot silence any speaker” just because it dislikes their view, Cortman said. ADF vows to keep defending students’ rights to speak freely. Their fight underscores a truth: schools shouldn’t be safe spaces for only one ideology.
Nichols’ “PRIDE Spirit Week” and pro-LGBTQ+ instruction show where the school's priorities lie. Administrators there are fine with students wearing message-laden clothing, as long as it’s the “right” message. Morrison’s shirt, however, was a bridge too far.
The First Circuit’s ruling gives schools a blank check to suppress speech they don’t like. By refusing to step in, the Supreme Court has left students like Morrison vulnerable to woke administrators. Free speech deserves better.
This case isn’t just about a shirt -- it’s about who controls the narrative in our schools. Nichols’ actions prove they’d rather censor than debate. Turns out, when you challenge the progressive orthodoxy, consequences follow.
