Following judge's ruling, cheerleaders defend their athleticism
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Some cheerleaders upset by a Connecticut judge's ruling invite those who think competitive cheering is not a sport to go ahead and try a back handspring -- then pick themselves up off the floor.
Cheerleaders nationwide are demanding respect after U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill decided Wednesday that replacing a Connecticut women's volleyball team with a competitive cheerleading squad did not meet the requirements of Title IX, the 1972 federal law mandating equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics.
"Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX," Underhill wrote in an opinion. "Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students."
University of Georgia competitive cheer coach Terry Jones, who ditched a football scholarship at Georgia Tech and took up pom-poms and partner-stunting at University of Florida, is among the many who disagree with that assessment.
“When I came into cheerleading, it was far more physical than I ever imagined," said Jones, who also trains the Force Elite All Stars at his Snellville gym. "I was far more hurt in cheerleading than I ever was in football. I was working muscles I didn't realize I had."
Like football players, cheerleaders condition, compete and sometimes break bones. “I think this is just a bunch of old men that don't know the sport -- it just doesn't make any sense," Jones said. "This is a multi-million dollar year round sport, not girls wearing short skirts and smiling."
Like other sports, cheerleading can lead to serious injuries.
"Everyone knows that cheerleading has far more injuries than football," Jones said.
Brookwood High junior Kati Dudman, who would like to cheer in college, sees it this way: “We practice every day. We train over the summer. It’s definitely a sport.”
