All-Star Sex Offender Arrested At Cheer Comp

[cheerKT]

I understand that as a fan you want to see the competitions, but as a parent, my first priority is to protect my child and her teammates. I think sometime we all forget that this is a sport for kids. For me, it's on the same level as any other sport. Unless I have a personal connection to a child playing in YMCA basketball ,I don't just stop at random games. If I want to see a basketball game, I go to a college or professional game. I think cheer should be the same way. I don't think that random people should be able to just stop at cheer competitions. My advice would be to make a friend in the cheer world, watch the clips on YouTube or go to a college competition. I think ALL youth sports should be for family/friends of the player. Maybe one day it could be a win-win for all, but if it comes down to protecting the kids or letting a fan in, the kids come first. This is just my opinion and no one on the cheer world is knocking my door for advice, so I wouldn't worry about it.

I understand the sentiment, I really do. It is about the kids and protecting them. But I'm one of those "fans" who attends competitions sometimes. Less now than before, because I'm a college senior and so terribly broke. I think you might underestimate how many people attend competitions that aren't "with" gyms. I haven't cheered since 2008 but I've been to Worlds every year since then. And I couldn't just buy tickets from my former gym because there are years my former gym did not have a bid to Worlds. There is no higher level to attend in cheer, much like you would attend a college or pro event for another sport. Allstar is the pinnacle of cheer. Sure there are college competitions once or twice a year, but with them both being in the same state and only in January and April it's not exactly convenient for the average fan to attend. Not like competitions in there home state nearly every weekend. I think you would see a HUGE drop off in cheer and it would be crippling for the sport to not allow people affiliated with gyms. A lot of times it's competition attendance that gets people wanting to join a team, we would lose all those potential athletes.

All in all, I get what you're saying. There are creepy people out there. But when you compare it to the number of fans that help drive the sport, pump tons of money into the industry, and cheer on your child as the compete, I don't really see how eliminating the casual cheer fan would do anything but hurt the sport.

 

[TheRealAlishaD]

My parents had a secret code word that was to be used if one of them was hurt/sick and we needed to go with someone else to another location. Luckily we were never in that situation, but it was good to have a backup plan. Heck, code word still stands even now..

I started using code words with my son after my first deployment to Iraq. We still practice it today.

I have always wondered about situations like these at competitions. Which is also why I support the cover up rule. Like a previous poster said, putting on a tshirt won't eliminate the perverts, but it minimizes the visual temptation just a smidge. I am adamant about making my girls put on sweat suits the minute we are off the stage and back to the seating area. I never let them leave my sight until I put EYES ON their parent or guardian. As a parent, I am always paranoid about the care of the children and I would hate for something to happen on my watch. The kids see it as the coaches being anal but the parents appreciate the extra effort, especially at big venues. While some of these guys stand out like sore thumbs, I'm sure lots of them blend in very well to the surroundings.

 

[xoxbeastbackspotxox]

This freaks me out. I had a lady try and fix the waistband of my skirt after I came out of the bathroom stall. I got out of there as fast as I could and told my mom right away. This is also why I always make sure to let my coaches know that my dad will be coming and to let my friends know as well so they aren't wondering who is taking pictures and if he was with our gym although most of my teammates or former teammates know him.

 

[WhoKnows]

I understand that as a fan you want to see the competitions, but as a parent, my first priority is to protect my child and her teammates. I think sometime we all forget that this is a sport for kids. For me, it's on the same level as any other sport. Unless I have a personal connection to a child playing in YMCA basketball ,I don't just stop at random games. If I want to see a basketball game, I go to a college or professional game. I think cheer should be the same way. I don't think that random people should be able to just stop at cheer competitions. My advice would be to make a friend in the cheer world, watch the clips on YouTube or go to a college competition. I think ALL youth sports should be for family/friends of the player. Maybe one day it could be a win-win for all, but if it comes down to protecting the kids or letting a fan in, the kids come first. This is just my opinion and no one on the cheer world is knocking my door for advice, so I wouldn't worry about it.

So what do you do when someone has a kid competing but was previously charged with something that may have been a dumb mistake all the way back in high school? That's still on their record, so would you not let them watch their kid compete?

 

[aggie1983]

So what do you do when someone has a kid competing but was previously charged with something that may have been a dumb mistake all the way back in high school? That's still on their record, so would you not let them watch their kid compete?

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see the connection to your hypothetical situation.

 

[CricketCheerMom]

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see the connection to your hypothetical situation.

That is a tough situation. Girls lie about their age a lot here and then their parents find out after the break up and bring up the boy on charges etc....

 

[aggie1983]

That is a tough situation. Girls lie about their age a lot here and then their parents find out after the break up and bring up the boy on charges etc....

Yeah, I presumed that was the type of situation being talked about, but I didn't see the correlation to "armycheermom"'s post. "who knows" seemed to be implying she was recommending something as extreme as background checks before someone could get into a comp. All armycheermom was talking about was limiting spectators to family and identified friends like they do at most children's pageants.

 

[Inwiththegold]

I understand the sentiment, I really do. It is about the kids and protecting them. But I'm one of those "fans" who attends competitions sometimes. Less now than before, because I'm a college senior and so terribly broke. I think you might underestimate how many people attend competitions that aren't "with" gyms. I haven't cheered since 2008 but I've been to Worlds every year since then. And I couldn't just buy tickets from my former gym because there are years my former gym did not have a bid to Worlds. There is no higher level to attend in cheer, much like you would attend a college or pro event for another sport. Allstar is the pinnacle of cheer. Sure there are college competitions once or twice a year, but with them both being in the same state and only in January and April it's not exactly convenient for the average fan to attend. Not like competitions in there home state nearly every weekend. I think you would see a HUGE drop off in cheer and it would be crippling for the sport to not allow people affiliated with gyms. A lot of times it's competition attendance that gets people wanting to join a team, we would lose all those potential athletes.

All in all, I get what you're saying. There are creepy people out there. But when you compare it to the number of fans that help drive the sport, pump tons of money into the industry, and cheer on your child as the compete, I don't really see how eliminating the casual cheer fan would do anything but hurt the sport.

Well said.

 

[Calivegasmom]

I think we an deter some of this by going back to "the village" mindset. Its going to take the entire village to monitor their safety. There are enough parents/spectators/coach's at these events that we can look out a bit for the kids. Not just YOUR kid but ALL the kids.
If you see someone suspicious alert the proper authority. If you see kids getting into unauthorized areas tell a rep or coach from their team. Don't turn a blind eye or shake your head.

Yes we are all here in the spirit of competing against one another, but i am sure NO one wants to see these types of stories repeated. Lets just take a moment to look out for everyone. We cant stop everything but our alert presence can stop some..

 

[crazeecheermom]

yes, but all kids should have a cover up on, even seniors, when not competing or for awards. Generally, the creeps that come (like above) target the younger participants... i.e. child pornography, having pictures for their own pleasure....Senior age kids are usually in high school, and are not as high of a risk as those who are not in high school. Not saying they are not at risk, but they are at a significantly lower risk than the young ones we see running around in half tops at competitions, much like the one where this man got arrested at.

I
I wasn't saying they shouldn't cover up. I wa merely pointing out that some girls,regardless of the new rules will still be wearing crop tops. I wouldn't let my daughter wear a crop top uncovered anywhere outside of the gym.

 

[cheermominar]

I assume their is some type of code Adam the comps. have if a child goes missing? This happened a few months ago to me: after cp's performance we where waiting for the girls to come out. We weren't able to sit with the rest of the team and sat somewhere else, but we did come down for the performance (their was no vip area) but we where hanging by the other parents that from the team. Not to far from where they where sitting. Husband and I are waiting for the girls to come out (after their performance), we see all the other girls but no cp. I saw our coaches not to far off and asked them where cp was? One coach stated I sent her with so and so (another older team member - cp is 8yrs but on a Jr. squad). My response was I saw so and so and cp wasn't with her. Then while over their talking to coach about cp's where abouts, I glace to where I left husband to watch out for cp, I see he picks her up. My guess is that cp wondered off with one of friends to where they were sitting (not far from us) for a few minutes then went to dad. But for a moment I was ready (along with coach) to freak out. Is their a code Adam they have in in place? Does the arena go into lock down mode and the comps. stop for a missing child? I do recall at one comp. their was a announcement about a lost child and for some from team such and such to go the judges area for them. But for a few minuets I was about to go into a full blown panic.

 

[mybabywantstotumble]

cheermominar same thing happened to us at the first comp of the season at new gym. i did kinda flip on coach, i could tell she freaked out a little too. we ended up finding cp over in another section with another team mate walking around looking for us and her parents. but i feel as though they never should have left that area in the first place.

 

[aggie1983]

At NCA about 3 years ago, a little brother of one of our cp's wandered away from his mom (he was 4, I believe). They made an announcement in the Hall we were in giving his description, but other than that there was no procedure implemented. Needless to say, all the parents from our team and other teams went into search mode and he was found -still in the Hall - within 10 minutes, but those few minutes were nerve wracking.

 

[OnceUponACheerleader]

I feel like a code adam would be incredibly difficult to enforce at a cheerleading competition. there are kids EVERYWHERE. It would be like asking everyone to stop and stand still in their tracks until the child was found. I work in a grocery store and have been in a code adam situation, but that is on a much smaller scale, with many less children - and it still took about 5-10 min to find a child (That is in a area 1/8th the size of an average competition, and has only 5/10 children in the store to begin with). Not saying its impossible, but it would be very difficult.

 

[Ren]

Sorry, but what's code adam? I thought it was a typo for something I couldn't work out at first, but now I'm just really confused!