Westbrook Officials Condemn Facebook Post Targeting Soccer Players

Westbrook's mayor, school officials and a state lawmaker publicly criticized a Facebook post that circulated in early October 2026 and falsely suggested two players on the Westbrook High School girls soccer team are transgender, The Portland Press Herald reported.

The post, published by the Facebook page of Parents' Rights in Education Maine, showed a team photo with two players marked out and the phrase "it's not fair" over the image. The Westbrook Beat, a Facebook and Substack page that calls itself the city's conservative watchdog, shared it. Both pages removed the post the same day.

Mayor David Morse said in a Facebook statement that using children's photographs for political purposes was wrong and that the community should reject it. Superintendent Peter Lancia and the high school administration said online that harassment and public targeting of student-athletes would not be tolerated.

Rep. Sue Salisbury, D-Westbrook, said residents moved quickly to report the posts and press the page moderators to take them down. "The message was loud and clear," she said.

Allen Sarvinas, director of Parents' Rights in Education Maine, disputed the account in an email and said the group acted on reports from community sources. The group has been backing a citizens' initiative to restrict transgender athletes in girls sports, which fell short of qualifying for the November ballot and is now aimed at 2027.

This story was first reported by The Portland Press Herald.