A federal appeals court has ruled against a Massachusetts middle school student who was asked by his school to remove a T-shirt that read, “there are only two genders.”

The incident first started last year when Liam Morrison was sent home by administrators at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough after refusing to remove the shirt. He later returned to school wearing the same shirt, but with the words “only two” covered with tape that had “censored” written on it. The school again ordered him to remove the shirt.

In an initial interview with Fox News, Morrison stated that the shirt was not aimed at any specific individuals or groups based on sexual orientation. “I’m just voicing my opinion about a statement that I believe to be true,” he told Fox News. “And I feel like some people may think that I’m imposing hate speech, even though it’s not directed towards anyone.”

Following the incident, Morrison’s family claimed that the school had violated his First Amendment rights and filed a lawsuit. However, a district court initially sided with the school. Now, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the district court’s decision, denying Morrison’s appeal.

David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the Morrison family, commented on the case, explaining that, “This case isn’t about T-shirts; it’s about a public school telling a middle-schooler that he isn’t allowed to express a view that differs from their own.”

“The school actively promotes its view about gender through posters and ‘Pride’ events, and it encourages students to wear clothing with messages on the same topic – so long as that clothing expresses the school’s preferred views on the subject,”  Cortman added.

This piece first appeared at TPUSA.