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Protesters attend football game in Bow because of high school's response to previous incident

On Tuesday, Bow's girls soccer team wore blue and Milford wore white. Off the field, however, there was a third uniform. After Bow School District officials barred a parent involved in a protest during last Friday's game, parents and community members gathered in Bow Tuesday night wearing pink armbands with “XX” on one side, indicating female chromosomes. The school district said this was a form of harassment directed at 15-year-old Parker Tirrell, a transgender athlete on Plymouth's girls soccer team. A second parent was barred, according to school officials. Most of the pink armband wearers said they had no children on the field, but a Facebook post about an incident at last week's game caught their attention. “When the alarm went off, I answered the call,” said Julie Smith of Nashua. “It's not just about parents worrying about their daughters. Now the school has upgraded it to a grounding, which many of us see as a violation of his free speech rights,” said Ann Marie Banfield, an organizer with the “XX” group. Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Tirrell would be allowed to play for the Plymouth girls soccer team this year. But parents and LGBTQ+ activists said the criticism distracted from the game. “Using something like a children’s sports game to make that point is really aimed at jeopardizing a wonderful, joyful community event,” said Heidi Carrington Heath, executive director of Seacoast Outright. “These are kids trying to play sports. And ultimately, I want them to be cheered on and supported, just like I would want my own kids to be cheered on and supported.” According to the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Plymouth girls soccer team is not scheduled to play against Bow for the rest of the regular season.

BOW, NH —

On Tuesday, the Bow girls soccer team wore blue and Milford wore white, but off the field there was a third uniform.

After Bow School District officials banned a parent involved in a protest during last Friday's game, parents and community members gathered in Bow on Tuesday night wearing pink armbands with the word “XX” on one side, indicating female chromosomes.

The school district said this was a form of harassment directed at 15-year-old Parker Tirrell, a transgender athlete on the Plymouth girls soccer team.

According to the school administration, a second parent was banned from the school.

Most of those wearing the pink armbands said there were no children on the field, but a Facebook post about an incident at last week's game caught their attention.

“When the alarm went off, I answered the call,” said Julie Smith of Nashua.

“It's not just parents worrying about their daughters. Now the school has banned him from the school, which many of us believe is a violation of his freedom of speech,” said Ann Marie Banfield, an organizer of the “XX” group.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Tirrell would be allowed to play for Plymouth's girls soccer team this year, but parents and LGBTQ+ activists said the criticism was putting a damper on soccer.

“When we use something like a children's sports game to make that point, it's actually designed to undermine a wonderful, joyful community event,” said Heidi Carrington Heath, executive director of Seacoast Outright. “These are kids trying to play sports. And ultimately, I want them to be cheered on and supported, just like I would want my own kids to be cheered on and supported.”

According to the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Plymouth girls soccer team is not scheduled to play against Bow for the remainder of the regular season.

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