All-Star Owners, Coaches And Athletes. Whose Accountable?!

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Funny you mention this..we went to our first dance comp...my CP wanted to support her BFF from school who is a dancer. It was like being taken back 50 years in terms of sexism/racism...lots of songs about getting a man, and one song about made me fall out of my seat...lyrics were "white folks have the brains, black folks have the moves" SO INAPPROPRIATE. ugh..

I'll take cheer over that any day.

Yeah there’s definitely some catching up to do in terms of appropriateness in the cheer/dance world in terms of feminism. I know a lot of people will say that being aware of these things is being too sensitive, but we really do have to be aware of the words and messages we’re telling them, even in the name of humor or “cuteness.”

For instance, one year a mom came up to me and suggested that the girls make cookies for the football players before the games because that’s what her cheer team did back in the day. I almost laughed in her face but instead patently explained that 1) that’s really not our job, and 2) who has time for that? Who is going to open their kitchen to 30 girls TWO HOURS BEFORE A GAME to feed boys who are perfectly capable of feeding themselves (I hope)? And why? So they can show off their homemaking skills and “land a man”? It was a weird, outdated, gross conversation.

I even see remnants of this on this board sometimes. Some user recently called a woman a “b—h.” And I thought, Really? In a sport that’s dominated by young girls, you’re going to use an insult that attacks a woman for being a woman? I don’t care what she did, there are literally millions of other words available to describe your angst. Use them. Assuming you’re educated enough to know them. You just can’t say that word anymore. Like I said, there’s a lot of catching up to do.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

For instance, one year a mom came up to me and suggested that the girls make cookies for the football players before the games because that’s what her cheer team did back in the day.

A senior football parent once complained to me and the AD that the "cheer team does NOTHING for the football players like they did when my older daughter was in school, they used to make treat bags and everything" (before I was coaching) My response was basically "The football team certainly deserves recognition for a great season. You are more than welcome to get a group of football moms together to coordinate the goodie bag effort!" She never replied. Or got football/booster moms together to make bags.

Cheer athletes support the team by making cheering on the sidelines and at events every week during the fall season. Beyond that, my philosophy is if you want it, you (football parents/booster moms) need to be the ones to make it happen.

 

[CoachTamara]

This year we will not be doing anything for the football team beyond cheering for them. We used to try and do nice things, and received nothing but sexist comments and disrespect from the players. Nope. Done. Have your mommies decorate your locker room, because my kids will not.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

This year we will not be doing anything for the football team beyond cheering for them. We used to try and do nice things, and received nothing but sexist comments and disrespect from the players. Nope. Done. Have your mommies decorate your locker room, because my kids will not.

I really don’t tolerate sexism toward the girls at all. One year at a visitor basketball game, the girls were watching the opposing team perform and kneeling in front of the court (like you do). Some entitled dumbass kid from the opposing bleachers reached under one of my girl’s skirts and grabbed her. She reacted, and the crowd behind her went wild. She was embarrassed, and I was quiet-angry (the most serious kind). I walked across the gym and screamed at that kid to go outside in front of his douche friends. He mocked me in response. So I called the police and reported him for assault and had him led out by two officers in front of his entire school.

There was a big maelstrom outside once the other school’s admin heard about cops on their campus. They wanted to plead “boys will be boys” but I wasn’t having it. One stupid hag even tried to tell me “Well maybe if your girls’ skirts weren’t SO short...” to which I scream-yelled, “ARE YOU DONE?” before she finished her sentence (turns out she was done). It was the hardest thing in the world to NOT use profanity because when it went further up the chain of command, I wanted to be sitting squeaky clean on the right side of things and leave no room for complaint (although “She used a bad language word!” in response to this would’ve been laughable).

Anyway, not sure what happened after the kid was booked but hopefully he learned that just because a girl wears a skirt in front of you doesn’t mean her body is your plaything.

 

[molls]

I really don’t tolerate sexism toward the girls at all. One year at a visitor basketball game, the girls were watching the opposing team perform and kneeling in front of the court (like you do). Some entitled dumbass kid from the opposing bleachers reached under one of my girl’s skirts and grabbed her. She reacted, and the crowd behind her went wild. She was embarrassed, and I was quiet-angry (the most serious kind). I walked across the gym and screamed at that kid to go outside in front of his douche friends. He mocked me in response. So I called the police and reported him for assault and had him led out by two officers in front of his entire school.

There was a big maelstrom outside once the other school’s admin heard about cops on their campus. They wanted to plead “boys will be boys” but I wasn’t having it. One stupid hag even tried to tell me “Well maybe if your girls’ skirts weren’t SO short...” to which I scream-yelled, “ARE YOU DONE?” before she finished her sentence (turns out she was done). It was the hardest thing in the world to NOT use profanity because when it went further up the chain of command, I wanted to be sitting squeaky clean on the right side of things and leave no room for complaint (although “She used a bad language word!” in response to this would’ve been laughable).

Anyway, not sure what happened after the kid was booked but hopefully he learned that just because a girl wears a skirt in front of you doesn’t mean her body is your plaything.

More people need to stand up like this. Thanks for what you did for that girl. Hopefully the kid learned a lesson.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

More people need to stand up like this. Thanks for what you did for that girl. Hopefully the kid learned a lesson.

It was one of those things where I was almost crying I was so mad. Especially at the response I got from the school’s AD or whoever was supposed to be overseeing that game. After the cops came along he tried to play damage control and placate me, which instead came across as, “How long so I have to patronise you before you and your uterus stop causing a scene?” Which just made me more determined to get my point across. At one point I threatened to call the local newspaper (even though it was a hollow threat because if you’ve ever worked in journalism, you know that just because you go to them with a story doesn’t mean anyone will do something with it). But it appeared to have worked because he knocked it off with the “But this boy has such a bright future ahead of him!” BS real quick after that.