All-Star The Wire Article On Cheerlebrities

[callmecoach]

@callmecoach I definitely don't want people to think I'm being critical of Maddie, nor Gabi. Pandora's cheerleading box, however, is now open and parents and gym owners can control whether or not they are going to shut it. I've learned quickly Newton's Law of Motion applies to Social Media, too. So, if we want to reduce the negative force, we are going to have to reduce the positive force, as well.

Oh I know. I didn't mean to insinuate that you were. I just meant that I don't think the answer is necessarily to eliminate publicity for individual athletes, but rather to manage it responsibly.

 

[CharlotteASMom]

Oh I know. I didn't mean to insinuate that you were. I just meant that I don't think the answer is necessarily to eliminate publicity for individual athletes, but rather to manage it responsibly.

This is a really important point. If a parent and child decide to encourage the celebrity of the athlete then they also are responsible for making sure that what is published or posted is fair, accurate, and positive. There are ways to control this and sometimes that means just saying "No thank you".

 

[JMW]

I compare the idea of famous athletes in cheer to famous athletes in other sports. There are certainly famous football players, for example, but none of them are minors (barring the occasional freshman phenom who may be 17). And while they are in college, I think/assume that their public social media presence is tightly controlled by the team/coaches (if not the NCAA?)

There are also famous athletes in other sports that are younger, but not many. Olympic gymnasts, for example. I wonder how/who controls their social media? Does the USOC have a say?

It seems to me that other sports have some control over their athletes' public persona. Would it make sense to have something similar in cheer, for the protection of the athletes themselves as well as the gym and the sport as a whole...

 

[UCFKnights07]

I compare the idea of famous athletes in cheer to famous athletes in other sports. There are certainly famous football players, for example, but none of them are minors (barring the occasional freshman phenom who may be 17). And while they are in college, I think/assume that their public social media presence is tightly controlled by the team/coaches (if not the NCAA?)

There are also famous athletes in other sports that are younger, but not many. Olympic gymnasts, for example. I wonder how/who controls their social media? Does the USOC have a say?

It seems to me that other sports have some control over their athletes' public persona. Would it make sense to have something similar in cheer, for the protection of the athletes themselves as well as the gym and the sport as a whole...

all star cheerleading isnt at the same caliber as usa gymnastics, not even close to be blunt. sorry. however i agree with what someone said earlier i think it depends on the teen and parent communicating well together and only doing things that would make a positive experience. maddie gardner would be a perfect example of that. not that i judge these other girls taking any thing thrown at them to make a name for themselves. but anything to do with reality tv, or doing a random written article by someone you have no relationship with is a huge risk, and usually a bad one for the most part.

 

[UCFKnights07]

also to add a point is that most other sports, the players or the athletes involved are under some sort of contract. anything they say or do that puts their team, etc in a bad light is going to get them fined or kicked out, so they tend to think twice before agreeing to anything thats offered to them.

 

[callmecoach]

all star cheerleading isnt at the same caliber as usa gymnastics, not even close to be blunt. sorry. however i agree with what someone said earlier i think it depends on the teen and parent communicating well together and only doing things that would make a positive experience. maddie gardner would be a perfect example of that. not that i judge these other girls taking any thing thrown at them to make a name for themselves. but anything to do with reality tv, or doing a random written article by someone you have no relationship with is a huge risk, and usually a bad one for the most part.

also to add a point is that most other sports, the players or the athletes involved are under some sort of contract. anything they say or do that puts their team, etc in a bad light is going to get them fined or kicked out, so they tend to think twice before agreeing to anything thats offered to them.

That's what @JMW was saying. Not that all star cheerleading is as big as USA gymnastics, but that they share the same situation of minors having a high-profile social media presence.

 

[Jessicaa]

all star cheerleading isnt at the same caliber as usa gymnastics, not even close to be blunt.

Cheer might not be close to gymnastics but that doesn't mean that we can learn a thing or two how they handle these minor situations. Not that I know if they have a way to certain handle it.. And also like you and everyone else said I think it's mostly parents responsibility.

Side note: I feel like i'm living in an european bubble! I had no idea that these cheerlebrities has spread from cheerleaders to "muggles" through instagram.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android || Upgrade Your Account!

 

[cheernerd5678]

also to add a point is that most other sports, the players or the athletes involved are under some sort of contract. anything they say or do that puts their team, etc in a bad light is going to get them fined or kicked out, so they tend to think twice before agreeing to anything thats offered to them.

I don't think I've ever not signed a social media and conduct agreement for a cheer team... If I'm posting something inappropriate I'm going to be told to take it down and suspended, more if it's bad enough.

 

[King]

The size of how big gymnastics is I think has more to do people willing to watch on TV than the number of people involved.

USA Gymnastics | About USA Gymnastics

That says about 110,000 athletes involved in the US. Allstar itself is said to have between 125,000-250,000 (so many little gyms no one knows for sure).

Cheerleading could be bigger than gymnastics but has a few things to overcome first (all organizational boring stuff but needs to happen).

 

[UCFKnights07]

The size of how big gymnastics is I think has more to do people willing to watch on TV than the number of people involved.

USA Gymnastics | About USA Gymnastics

That says about 110,000 athletes involved in the US. Allstar itself is said to have between 125,000-250,000 (so many little gyms no one knows for sure).

Cheerleading could be bigger than gymnastics but has a few things to overcome first (all organizational boring stuff but needs to happen).

true. but gymnastics is an olympic sport so it has more prestige.

 

[King]

true. but gymnastics is an olympic sport so it has more prestige.

To be bigger cheer has to have a universal scoresheet for all cheerleading, not just Allstar (we need to be able to judge and compare teams across the country and cross types of cheer) a true governing body for all of cheer (not just in name only), and then we need more standardized divisions and sizes.

Then we can start looking at being a sport and other pieces. Cheer could very easily be a sport everyone wants to watch and follow but things have to be fixed first. Lots of those things people hold dear as the things that make cheer awesome. I disagree, but what ya gonna do.

 

[12stepCheermom]

I have never watched that but heard a lot of people enjoyed it.

I order you to stop what you're doing at your next wifi opportunity and watch it! It's the best piece for Allstar ever!

 

[Cheer Dad]

I order you to stop what you're doing at your next wifi opportunity and watch it! It's the best piece for Allstar ever!

Yes Ma'am!

 

[Ashley]

Jezebel picked it up and did an article about it.

The Insane, Wonderful, Totally 2013 World of Celebrity Cheerleaders

 

[BuegeSmalls]

Jezebel picked it up and did an article about it.

The Insane, Wonderful, Totally 2013 World of Celebrity Cheerleaders

Ugh someone commented on the article saying "Can an extreme cheerleader answer me this serious philosophical question: when there is no quarterback, no football team... What is it you're cheering for?"