My eldest daughter, who was in 11th grade in the New Canaan, CT High School, thought it would be fun to try cheerleading after having studied at international schools the prior 4 years. Though not as blatant as described in this article, the cheerleading squad was subject to only negative (and scurrilous) comments during the autumn football team "banquet" at which the cheerleaders waited the tables. Needless to say she quit immediately after given the condescension & abuse she experienced. If this is what girls & women in the 5th wealthiest zip code in the U.S. experience, her father can only imagine what abuse is perpetrated elsewhere. Happily the family is now living in the UK which, for all its faults, exposes women to relatively fewer incidents of male entitlement.
10
Seemed to be an awfully long way down the story, at least after the male principle was eviscerated and demonized, that it was clear that these violations (and they are violations) were perpetrated by a woman in a position of authority against the young women in her charge.
Has Ms Macur ever watched a 'cheer' squad or a 'dance' team? From high school through the professional ranks, there is nothing worth keeping. Starting with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders in the 70's it has always been about titillating a male audience at the expense of objectifying and denigrating women.
The Big Boobie award is sophomoric and boorish. It is the entire activity (I refuse to classify it as a sport) that is an insult.
26
I can't believe that anyone could think this was acceptable, that they could think jokes about a young person's body was funny, especially given that the body parts we are talking about are associated with sexual identity. I am no prude, rather it is that young women face already a lot of pressure to 'look right', and adding in sexual connotations makes that pressure worse. It is bad enough when kids do stuff like this, but when adults do it there is something wrong (I have to admit, maybe young people are better at understanding this then I did. I went to a football game recently at the high school I went to many decades ago, and was happy to see the cheerleaders were of a variety of body styles, heights, and other things, not the mean girl type that were cheerleaders when I was in school; the girl who won homecoming queen didn't fit that stereotype at all, amazing young woman).
16
Come on, let's be honest. Cheerleading is essentially about objectifying the girls or women who participate. If you are opposed to reducing women to sexualized objects for the gaze of heterosexual men--and of course you should be--then you should be opposed to cheerleading, full stop. All these ridiculous "coaches" did was to fail to dishonestly obscure this obvious fact.
The elevation of cheerleading--a practice that originated to give male spectators something else to gaze at during timeouts and such and when women were denied any possibility of participation in actual athletics--to the status of a sport in itself is just another attempt to obscure the fact that it is all about displaying women's bodies in whatever defines the most sexualized attire of the day, be that tight sweaters or lycra.
23
How hard is it to understand--as parents, supposed mentors and merely as adults--that publicly commenting on a kid's physical appearance is out of bounds and abusive?
30
RE: Lisa Damour, a clinical psychologist said:
“It skywrites that the person giving out the award is objectifying the teenage girl’s body, and isn’t seeing her as a whole person or an athlete but someone to be measured and rated based on appearance,” she said. “When we talk about how girls look, we’re not talking about what girls can do.”
TOO TOO FUNNY! Yep females don't care about there appearance don't us it to try to attract males.
4
It seems distressingly clear that this is -- at least potentially -- one of those instances where sexual harassment isn't being taken seriously because the coaches are women and the cheerleaders are girls.
Who would condone a male coach presenting such an award, with its accompanying commentary, to an underaged girl?
12
RED FLAG if they plan to continue this banquet with these stellar coaches and the squad, but prohibit the parents. Provide complete transparency-don't ban oversight. They went from dumb to dumber with that plan.
Second, why did no one jump up and intervene at the first mention of these inappropriate comments?! It doesn't have to be your child to step in. That it ever got so far as not one but more girls walking up to receive such awards, means their community also let them down.
17
Replace the principal. That sends the right message.
15
If my taxes were paying the salaries of the leadership and cheerleading coach staff at this high school, I would be at the doorstep of the school district headquarters every single day until they were fired. When you send your kids to public school, your expectation is that the adults in charge are coaching and teaching them to succeed and thrive. Based on this story, these folks have failed miserably.
26
This is clear-cut underage sexual harassment.
And the parents aren’t invited. Fortunately someone had the courage to expose this.
The formative years of high school are so crucial in the evolution of a human to adulthood, and it’s past time to rid ourselves of this sexist relic of girl cheer-and-pep squads for high school sports.
Forget varsity and blood-in-your-eye violent and injurious sports. Let’s have sports for the participant. For all. For the joy of movement and exercise and camaraderie.
11
This is the same backwards state that repeatedly voted for Scott Walker. It's 1950 in Wisconsin. It's shocking that parents of these children thought these awards were amusing and acceptable. Hopefully, this article will bring attention to this and help end this sad and demeaning behavior.
29
Cheerleading needs to go; its very existence is a silly, sexist anachronism. If girls (or boys!) want to dance and/or do gymnastics, then that's what they should do - and they don't need to cheer on somebody else's team to do it.
I am proud to say that, despite the fact that their mother and both aunts were cheerleaders, neither of my daughters followed those footsteps. Instead, they played sports like soccer, field hockey, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. Over and over, watching them play, I wished I had learned the lessons they learned about taking risks, supporting each other, being aggressive, sharing, forgiving oneself etc. etc. I mean, cheerleading was fun and athletics and gymnastics were involved, but no matter how intense it got (cheerleading camp lol!) it was never the same as a true sport.
Hopefully cheerleading will go the way of the dodo soon, and "cheer" will morph into dance and gymnastics.
17
Interesting how played-down the fact that the coaches are women. No statement from @metoo.
3
That one of the perps considers disgust with her "awards" political correctness is insane. It is abusive bullying and antithetical to genuine mentoring/coaching/educating. I graduated high school 50 years ago this May, in the "good ol days," and, though some jerks thought these kinds of "jokes" were hilarious, none of our teachers or coaches would have ever ever ever allowed such behavior at any awards event, much less instigated it. I commend the adults who spoke up and am now off to write a check to be ACLU.
15
I wonder how the coaches and school administrators at this school would feel if the students gave them public awards based on their physique?
11
Please note that the coaches did not share photos of their own perfect bodies.
10
I don't have a lot use for PC culture, but the fact that these coaches are so interested in the bodies of young girls is quite creepy and inappropriate.
13
If the parents are excluded, then they shouldn’t allow their daughters to attend. This is clearly a set up for even greater abuse.
29
Sure makes anyone with a daughter want to move to Kenosha, doesn't it? Who would want to live there if that is the community attitude?
9
This is abuse!
I went to college in 1967. My roommate was a gorgeous young woman, very bright, who had large breasts about which she was constantly being teased. Nobody paid attention to her considerable mind.
You think this stuff doesn't hurt, think again.
213
I am stunned that some parents think this is acceptable. Now the parents are not invited to the awards. That is disturbing.
226
@Zoenzo. "stunned"? I'm never stunned these days. And being a father of 3 girls and 1 boy, and being around parents, I'm not even surprised.
24
Never, ever, would I let my teenage daughter return to work with these "coaches." It's difficult enough to be a young woman in this world without adults picking apart your body shape. Clearly they've learned nothing, having been warned about this for the past few years. I can only hope that some of these parents will stand up for their daughters by having them leave this team, fight for respect, and at the bare minimum, skip the banquet.
183
I'm not surprised the school's track coach protested the idiotic awards. My daughter's experiences in track and cross country affirmed the value of hard work and tenacity, not body shape and size. That's what extra curriculars are all about, student growth outside the classroom. That Kenosha chose to keep the cheerleader's "coach" on after the complaints demonstrates a stunning indifference to the student's development.
204
@gopher1 More to the point, it just shows once again what aspect(s) of these girls most interest male coaches.
6
Absent much mention in this article is that the coaches are women. There is a big difference in handling out big bootie awards as female coaches rather than male coaches. I don't agree with the premise of the awards either way, but the fact that the coaches are women should be prominently highlighted not glossed over.
16
Why do we still have cheerleading? It's so obviously rooted in a really old model of guys doing sports and girls cheering them on. I get that modern cheerleading can be very physical like gymnastics. But can you imagine these kinds of awards on a gymnastics team? It happens on a cheerleading team because deep down there's still an old mental model of cheerleaders as women in their "proper" position as primarily sexual objects and supporters of men.
I don't doubt that some of these adults honestly thought this was all fun and not meant to be derogatory. But they need to get some perspective that's rooted in today's world, not the 1950's.
288
Many cheerleading squads are comprised of both young men and women.
13
@Sneeral . true. Thanks for the reality check. I still think the concept is dated but I realize that it's evolving.
9
@sfperson I am a feminist and raised 3 feminist daughters. But one absolutely loved cheerleading--- it is not just gymnastics- it includes music, dance and school spirit. If people enjoy cheerleading, they should be able to do this sport without being demeaned or attacked. Men who play football can be viewed in a sexist way as being macho or all brawn, but no one is telling them to stop the sport.
27
The fact that this happened is beyond appalling. How is the coach who did not resign still working there? She should have been removed immediately, as should the others for having not handled something so sensitive immediately.
25
One other thought that compounds this heinous "awards" is the online reputation damage these women could endure due images or posts being shared on social media.
12
"A current cheerleader said in an interview that the girls went along with the jokes because, “What else were they supposed to do?”
The cheerleader and the parents interviewed requested that their names not be made public, out of fear of retribution from the coaches." Quoted from the article.
What a horrible message these young women are receiving: Go along, and don't speak out out of fear of retribution if you do.
This is the definition of rape culture.
The school's response is beyond weak. Plus, banning parents from the awards banquet? The assumption can only be made that rather than an evening celebrating these talented athletes, something will be going on that school administrators and coaches do not want parents to see.
51
Another article explaining how Trump got elected POTUS.
44
Can we as a society finally shun this demeaning activity pretending to be a sport?
Why would any parent let their daughter participate in cheerleading?
It boggles my mind.
20
"Ms. Uttech... said in an email to administrators that the Boobie and Booty awards were 'a huge hit and truly lots of laughs and fun.'"
Ugh. Stay out of comedy, Aunt Lydia. It's not your strong suit.
25
I graduated from Tremper in 1991. There were many good teachers there and overall I am very proud the school I attended. But, I witnessed first hand and experienced extensive emotional and verbal abuse from a very prominent retired Choir Director. It was so long ago, and the list is so long of the emotional duress he put me and my collegeus through was extensive and exhaustive.
I have always wanted to confront him, but I know he is so incredibly in denial and such an abuser it would simply retraumatize me. I have run over the things I would say to him over and over in my head over the years if I ever saw him again. Unfortunately, I did see him again. At the most inopportune time, I was directly confronted with him, at my father’s funeral. I could do nothing. I could say nothing. Just froze, nodded and smiled as he characteristically tried to make the entire exchange about him. He is vile.
It’s all just too long ago and all boils down that he was just demeaning and degrading. I’m very glad that this behavior is no longer being tolerated. Being treated this way at my most vulnerable time in my life taught me nothing, except how lash out at others and did a number on my self esteem. Being told over and over how dumb I was did not make me stronger. I could have been mentored, nurtured and encouraged. Instead I was manipulated, demeaned and made to know how powerless I was.
I’m glad this is being addressed. This type of culture is so damaging.
32
I recently reached the ripe old age of 65. Donald Trump is president. Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are popular ‘pundits.’ The loathsome, benighted Roy Moore was quite nearly elected to the Senate. Steve King and Louis Gohmert are members of Congress.
We know that playing football results in debilitating brain injury for the majority of those who play on the field... yet most could care less and flock to the game.
Right wing extremists, including hare-brained, heavily armed ‘militia’ increase in number and have been ‘mainstreamed.’
We still parade women around like farm animals on the sidelines at public events and on the stage at ‘pageants.’
We seemingly learned nothing from the Vietnam era and from the brutal, pointless destruction and loss of life and waste of resources it entailed - and instead leapt headlong into the Middle East for more of the same.
Looking back over my lifetime, it’s just amazing how far we haven’t come. The needle has barely moved.
66
Shocking, unacceptable and grounds for immediate termination of the organizers and anyone else who failed to protect the kids. That said, I do not see it as a reason to ban cheer nationally, extend it to a girls cheering for boys is wrong, or a Donald Trump is responsible theme. Sometimes something bad is not a symptom of anything beyond some bad judgement and bad behavior. We don't know in this case.
2
I have no problem with cheerleading, any more than I do with beach volleyball or sumo wrestling (the real deal kind). But talk and humour like that makes my blood boil. A mass firing and investigation should be in order.
11
This story is so very depressing. We have lost all sense of decency. Giving awards for body parts? In what world does this happen? And, in what world does the school district need to hesitate for even a day to know this behavior from the coach is wrong? I realize this sounds so very old school, but, enough is enough. We need no analysis or probing to explain. It is just wrong.
25
This is in the same state, Wisconsin, where parents tolerate and even help students put up blackface photos of a star basketball player at a high school game (Look up Port Washington versus Nicolet High School basketball, February 15). Children of all races and genders are treated with so little respect here. And parents, coaches, school administrators, and leaders let it go, and even make excuses for it. Grow up and get out of the stone ages, Wisconsin, it is not about political correctness anymore, it is about basic decency and manners. You are falling behind.
24
Perhaps it is time for girls to leave Cheerleading. They perform on the sidelines cheering for boys teams instead going out to join a different activity. There are many avenues to perform without it having to be from the sidelines. Dance groups, dance gymnastics and all kinds performing arts are available. Cheerleading is a relic of the past and it continues to put women in a supportive role, rather than one that leads. The outfits have not changed for years, and in this era it is past time for this activity to be retired.
83
The coach declined to resign and is still working ?? Who is in charge here - the administrators or the coaches ? Fire her then if she does not want to resign .
117
Girls in skimpy outfits cheering boys attacking each other, spawning broken bones and head injuries. Sounds like the perfect American blend of sex and violence. Why would you want your children involved in that? As a long time ACLU member, I'm glad to see my $ at work. Now lets go after the 18 states that still allow teachers to beat children as part of school discipline.
66
The last lines of the article are telling "no parents invited", I'd get the hell out of that town in a NY minute
116
Only in the Trump age. Adults giving awards to underage girls for their large breasts?? This is NOT a P.C. issue; this is sexual harassment of minors. Who did Wisconsin vote for in 2016?
139
@Farmer D So WI going for Trump motivated the cheerleading coach to institute these misguided awards. That seems like a bit of a stretch.
Not a stretch at all. The Age of Trump lowered the bar so that the coach could continue her misogynist awards.
25
And we should be shocked? With the never-ending assault on women from every sector about their looks and bodies, from the time they're old enough to walk? In an activity where they are hyper-sexualized and fetishized, we wonder that a coach and squad somewhere talks about boobies and butts?
Sfperson said it best- why do we still have this? It's not good for the girls in any way whatsoever, as fantastic an athletic pursuit as it is. Dance and gymnastics are more appropriate channels for demonstration of such physical excellence.
33
From the perspective of a country where cheerleading isn't really a thing, it kinda seems like you're missing the forest for the trees here.
Maybe just rethink the whole thing where high school girls don tight little outfits and dance around in front of a baying crowd. I mean, there's a reason this outfit crops up so frequently in porn. It's not the team spirit.
94
Well observed and well said!
7
What happened to Wisconsin? A few months ago we had the high school class and its Heil Hitler salute and now this. It's true they elected Scott Walker twice and Trump once but that just makes the question more urgent, what happened to Wisconsin?
74
We also had McCarthy and the red scare.
16
@Nancy
I am ashamed to tell people that I am from Wisconsin.
6
Maybe it's time we asked whether or not the role of a so-called "cheerleader" isn't itself a sexist offense.
Maybe my experience is limited, but I never see them in pants or shorts or long skirts or floppy blouses. It's always skin-tight sweaters and skirts the size of a handkerchief.
24
Ms. Uttech needs to find another line of work. She clearly does not understand children.
47
How on earth can the school allow that banquet to go on without any parents present?!?! Hopefully this article will change that; for the life of me, I can't understand why any adult would do this to a teen ager.
73
I couldn't agree more! I was dumbfounded when I read that sentence. Who in their right mind would allow their child to attend? And why is the school district allowing the banquet to be held under that condition? It's stories like this that make me think girls and women will never be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.
41
@cb2018
Some mothers take their 8 year-old daughters to beauty contests where they're essentially dressed and made-up like mini-prostitutes and dance suggestive dances like mini-pole dancers. It doesn't seem like the mothers care much about the respect and dignity you refer to, and you can't reasonably blame men for these mothers' attitudes.
Make cheerleading co-ed. Make the uniforms sweatpants and a sweater or t-shirt. Have the cheer squad cheer for both girls' and boys' teams. If that isn't satisfactory, get rid of cheerleading, since it would be apparent that actual "cheer leading" is not the point. No more girls on the sidelines boys on the field. Boys and girls on the sidelines cheering for all teams that represent their school. That's school spirit.
45
No parents invited to the banquet?? No way. This is insanity, and institutional bullying, and removing the parents removes the controls on the bullies. This is unacceptable. I can't imagine the damage that has been done to the self-esteem of these young women, and the only change is to protect the bullies? My hope is that not a single young woman will show up to that banquet under those rules, and that the leadership of the district gets its head on straight. The inmates are running the asylum, and that seems to mean, in this case, the administration. How sad.
58
What is wrong with these coaches? This is insane.
34
"We do like to have fun and keep thing on the lighter side." Wow. How is it fun for these young girls to be openly objectified?
41
Kenosha and its schools should be ashamed to be allowing this kind of sexist behavior in this day and age. As someone who was born in that state, I'm appalled.
23
"Jesus Christ was perfect and look at what they did to him." One of my bosses at the newspaper I worked at for 20 years told me that after I complained of being picked on because I was 6 feet tall.
7
We still have a long way to go in our society, to change the sexist double-standard of how we view male and female bodies.
Take a moment and watch 5 minutes of television/YouTube/Netflix, with the volume turned down, and look at what people are wearing. The majority of women are scantily dressed, while men are buttoned up tight. Why do we need cleavage all of the time?
21
I am sure that they also had a banquet to pass out awards to members of their football team. Did the presenters make comments on the size of the players’ body parts?
40
It sounds like the coaches are unfamiliar with the negative repercussions girls and young women suffer from public shaming, particularly regarding body image, however innocent the intent. Yes, it's abhorrent to think some consider these awards reasonable jokes. This is surprising to those of us aware of these issues, some who have surely suffered acutely from such body shaming. It's particularly worrisome when this appears to have been going on even after previous warning signs. These folks could certainly benefit from absorbing appropriate training, and it seems that legal threat might very well make this happen. Attention in the NYT will very likely push it all along faster. It might even get them fired. or sued. or both!
With all this being said, I encourage people to comment here and more widely to treat others with respect, however naive, ignorant or harming their actions may be. The coaches are shaming the girls. Does it make it right to publicly shame or judge them? "dumb!" "stupid" "sue, sue, sue" This will likely only harden their views and alienate them from learning a better way to coach.
Haven't we all had enough of the shaming and judgment game on this and so many areas of discourse in our country?
7
I would surmise that all the readers of this article are shocked that adult instructors would tolerate the idea of these awards much less award them. Any instructors that were asked to resign but refused would be fired immediately and not allowed any access to cheerleading at the school thereafter. I am flummoxed by the parents who have kept silent like lambs led to slaughter.
31
Where are the adults in schools? I have noticed over the course of my long educational career, as a colleague, as a parent, as a grandparent, that an increasingly large number of teaching staff look the other way once kids hit middle school.
Educators cannot dismiss the tendency for children to be cruel to each other as permission to make "fun" of that very same cruelty. While this may not be a popular statement, or easy to implement, respect, self-control, and social problem-solving must be part of the curriculum. If it is not, this is what you get. The most clueless and/or cruel of the faculty will control the lives of everyone else.
17
Isn’t cheerleading inherently body shaming?
34
So the solution is to keep the parents from the event so they can harass the girls with impunity?
94
The coaches who closed the banquet to the parents had better hope that none of the students make cell phone videos of the event.
90
@Robert
Or better yet that they throw another party for the students so they can boycott the banquet and still have fun.
13
High school cheerleading, Miss America contests, Ballet dancers, there should be no surprises here that body shaming is rampant but not acceptable.
14
@Jacquie Boxing matches. Wrestling matches. Swimming meets. Where's the body shaming at these men's events?
1
I agree that the described treatment of cheerleaders is deplorable and I am happy that the ACLU has threatened to take action.
I also wish that the ACLU would take on the blatantly obscene, misogynistic, female-debasing, violence-glorifying, gun-promoting language of rappers and the music companies that promote them. I can’t understand why these rappers always seem to get a pass from the #MeToo movement.
I would be happy to provide samples of the language I am referring to, but the NYT surely would be unwilling to print it.
28
@Mal T
Because song lyrics are speech and as such are protected by the 1st Amendment.
6
@m.pipik #MeToo has little to do with free speech, it is about focusing public attention on those who commit or promote rape and denigration of women.
I taught for over thirty years and I had the privilege to work with many talented, dedicated and caring coaches.
But I’m sure each one would say that intellectually as a group they are not the top of the heap. Sorry, but that’s the way it is, it isn’t a requirement for the job.
13
@Roland
Well, that gross generalization certainly helps advance the discussion! Really! The dumb jock stereotype is a cousin to body-shaming but apparently this Iowa farm boy doesn't get it. See what I mean about gross generalizations? How does that feel?
8
Sorry, but that's the way it isn't going to be
Dumb! Should be looking for a new job after such an imbecile lapse in judgement. Might need to check his computer and see what other dangers he's hiding.
12
Cheer leading is stupid I do not know why parents subject their kids to it. If fitness is so important sign them up for gymnastics
19
@JP
Because young girls and women are treated with so much respect in gymnastics and their bodies are never mentioned.
7
What a nasty piece of work this is.
Hostile environment?
Blaming the victims of sexual assault?
Then whining it was all in good fun and the young women just have no sense of humor?
Sue, ACLU.
In fact, I have no idea why you haven't already sued.
Parents, please consider private civil action.
Sue.
Then let's see how loud they laugh.... It could be that it is their sense of humor that is not so good.
Don't wait on the ACLU.
103
@rosa If I were a school taxpaying citizen of that school district I would refuse to fund this district until this practice was ended and all who approved this horrifying display of misogyny were dismissed.
7
The most abhorrent part of this is that women coaches perpetuated this. As I have seen way too many times in my many years, we, as women, are own worst enemies.
44
I'm amazed that the parents and other cheerleaders sat in the audience and permitted this to happen. I'm amazed that this coach wasn't fired for the sexual harassment of child athletes in school sponsored events. I'm not amazed to read that this isn't the first example of sexism and weirdness about girls' bodies at this "school." Thank heaven for the ACLU!! Update your memberships, people!
128
@Charlie Clarke
I agree. I would have been charging the stage immediately whether my child were the one being humiliated or not. The parents who are no longer allowed to come to the cheerleading banquet should not allow their daughters to go.
37
Who would have thought high school cheerleading objectifies young women's bodies?
38
Seriously? Are we so insecure in our own skins that we need to body shame cheerleaders? The girls (and boys) who are the soul of high school team spirit, an American tradition? It helps no one when parts of your body are used to define one, instead of the whole person, just as she or he is. And it is beyond cruel, no amount of joking can offset that. Perhaps cheerleading is way past its prime and the students could channel their collective and individual energy into more academic and community pursuits instead.
23
What is Tremper High teaching their students these days?
Why do they not hire people that enjoy and respect working with students and set good examples?
WHY close the Cheerleading Reward Banquet closed to parents??? Is the football or Basketball teams or other banquets closed to parents as well?
Principal and Cheerleading Staff are not worthy and should not be working with students.
51
If the school is going to try to circumvent parents' wishes, then the parents should tell their cheerleading offspring to use their phones to record what goes on. If the hosts truly wanted to be transparent, they should record the event themselves, and share it.
It sounds like the school has a culture of bullying that starts from the top - the adults - and works its way down to the point where students just accept it. Isn't that what bullies do, downplay the effects on their victims? Enjoy your shame or you will be shamed further seems to be the message. And that's just deplorable.
58
Let me guess who that coach voted for. in 2016.
54
Confirms what I always thought of cheerleaders - and Inwas in high school 40 years ago! Has to be much worse now with social media.
5
Every adult in the room during that banquet who did not speak out against these “awards” should be forced to participate in parenting classes and anti-discrimination training. There is nothing funny about adults (particularly ones in positions of authority like the coaches) mocking girls’ bodies. A kindergartener would know that is wrong. What the heck is wrong with ppl in this district in Kenosha? Shameful.
54
The coaches were wrong to announce embarrassing awards in front of a room full of parents. That was a mistake. I have to wonder though: What do these parents think happens in high school?
Even if you don't participate in sports, students still complete athletic evaluations. Awarding raspberry medals actually defuses some of the more malicious taunting that might occur. You're making a light joke about something which a mean student might otherwise latch onto.
And anyway, if you don't want your child's body objectified, why did you sign them up for cheerleading in the first place? Cheerleading is one of the most sexually degrading sports out there. None of my female friends were allowed to do cheerleading in high school. Their mothers didn't want to promote that sort female athleticism.
8
It rankles that the coach does not seem to understand that focusing on someone's body parts i.e. breasts is truly dehumanizing. He said, "she won it fair and square". No it isn't about winning when you are born with the trait.
30
@Just paying attention
Even worse, HER PARENTS said that.
13
@Just paying attention
Oh, I think he knew very well what he was up to.
Someone needs to check around and see if there have been assault complaints against him. This is not normal behavior. Never has been, never will be.
4
@Just paying attention and other commenters.
Please read that paragraph again. The principal is male, the coach is female. The quotation is from the note by "a parent." It's all still horrifying, of course.
7
Many cheerleaders are, among other things, superb athletes. It takes enormous skill and stamina to do many of the things they are asked to do.
And that is how they should be treated. Respectfully, and without references to body parts--"outstanding" or otherwise-- especially in an awards ceremony.
81
Simplistic (albeit socially unacceptable answer) eliminate cheerleading, sports, etc. School should to educate the student. Extra curricular activities are aimed at a very few; athletic young men, attractive, athletic young women and their parents in the stands.
18
@Jaded Trader
The actions of those coaches is just plain wrong. This should not be tolerated. They should be fired. I do not want my children (or myself for that matter) exposed to crass and demeaning behavior.
That said, sports and athletics are an important part of education. It has been since the Greek times and probably before that. Sports and exercise are not just for the "athletic young men". PE, exercising, and learning about exercise should be for all. Some do not want to learn math, but the exposure does them good. The same goes for athletics and team sports.
Building character should be part of both the sport and academic curriculum and has an important place in our schools.
9
@Jaded Trader
What does attractiveness have to do with athletics? I guess the men can be unattractive but the women can't? I was a high school athlete and learned a lot from the experience re: teamwork and shared goal-setting.
12
I find myself too often surprised that some adults take actions without ever really examining what they're doing. How did this coach ever think this was a good or acceptable idea?
96
Clearly she not woke. She should’ve checked her privilege.
6