All-Star Dangerous Cheer “stanning”

[JerseyGirl112]

I know we’ve talked about this a bunch on here in different threads but with Summit starting I really want to start a discussion specifically about this. This attitude of entitlement over teenagers is DANGEROUS. If you are competing/spectating this weekend please respect the privacy of these athletes. They didn’t ask to be your ‘idol’ and they owe you nothing. Parents- please make sure you talk to your kids about this and aren’t the parent enabling your child to essentially follow and harass another athlete.

As a community, what does everyone here think we can do to end this kind of behavior? And what kinda of conversations should we be having with kids about this? Both those on the teams affected and those that are perpetrating the behavior?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[quietmom]

I think it would help for gyms, owners, and coaches to talk to their athletes about this behavior as well.

 

[UCFKnights07]

I went into the twitter abyss during worlds weekend and saw someone brag about how they grabbed kenleys arm and said "i love you" to her and how it was the best thing ever... Like i dont blame these girls for running away or saying no. AT ALL.
Stalking people is frowned upon in regular life, i dont know how these kids dont understand that concept.

 

[XtremeWpg]

It's like kids don't realize that these athletes they idolize are simply other kids. They just happen to be kids with an outstanding skill set, who physically present well to the world.

Lets be honest, the athletes being idolized are all cute, put together and have talent up the wazoo. They're also frequently flyers, which are the team members most put on "display" in a routine. That is what makes them more recognizable than their basing counterparts.

It's likely that this "stan" culture exists in other sports, but to a lesser extent simply due to the show nature of our sport. We focus on performance as much as skills, and that is a dynamic that doesn't exist in most other sports.

What's the answer? Maybe adults explaining, over and over again to children what is and isn't appropriate in a competition setting. Explaining how distracting it is to those athletes and teams who are just trying to compete the same way everyone else is.

As far as the anon culture goes, that's beyond me. It's *not* just a cheerleading thing. Check out the comment section on any news story online, and you'll see it there. People are just nasty and its sickening.

 

[caffeineandglitter]

As a community, what does everyone here think we can do to end this kind of behavior? And what kinda of conversations should we be having with kids about this? Both those on the teams affected and those that are perpetrating the behavior?

Right now there is a ton of focus on "I got a picture with X cheerlebrity." Redirecting the focus to watching X cheerlebrity perform could help, and implicitly reminds the kids that they look up to [cheerlebrity] because of his/her awesome skills. I think it helps to put the focus on the athletic skills, not on the cult of personality.

There's also something concrete that could be done about this, which is adding more viewing space and/or more streaming live to a secondary location on site at big comps. I think it's possible that if Susie's mom knows Susie will get to watch Senior Elite perform later in the day, she will be less aggressive about actively grabbing Senior Elite athletes when she sees them?

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

How about parents having conversations with the kids about having “idols” who have accomplished something meaningful somewhere other than an amateur activity?

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

If you grab my kid in any setting I'm going to go straight the nearest security officer.





And tell him to hold my earrings.


I don't know how parents of these kids deal with it.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Unfortunately it's a phenomenon that's not going away anytime soon. You can talk to your kid all you want about how to act, but the advent of social media has produced a very entitled and toxic society.

Twitter and the like have made people -- including and especially public figures -- more accessible than they've ever been. I don't even think kids today were alive when the only sources for celeb news were magazines and TV... no internet, no social media, no direct line to their fave celebs. All they've ever known is this world where if they want to praise or hate a public figure, all they have to do is tweet at them as easily as they would their BFF. It’s doesn’t even matter if the person in question responds or not... just the act of reaching out to them has convinced the kid they have a relationship now and that they’re owed something in return. That’s where the sense of entitlement comes in.

So when you have these cheer-lebrities thrust into the limelight whether they sought it or not, it's no surprise to me that their fans are reacting like this. It might even be magnified because these cheer-lebrities are young, relatable, and accessible at cheer competitions.
The behavior is super gross and weird, and I honestly have no idea who has the time to create these fan pages and seek out the attention of these people they don't even know. All because a kid took a viral pic? It’s unbalanced and creepy. So yeah, I don’t blame cheer-lebrities for straight up running away from stalkers who’ve convinced themselves that they owe them something and whine about it when they don’t deliver. I would too.

 

[quietmom]

Unfortunately it's a phenomenon that's not going away anytime soon. You can talk to your kid all you want about how to act, but the advent of social media has produced a very entitled and toxic society.

Twitter and the like have made people -- including and especially public figures -- more accessible than they've ever been. I don't even think kids today were alive when the only sources for celeb news were magazines and TV... no internet, no social media, no direct line to their fave celebs. All they've ever known is this world where if they want to praise or hate a public figure, all they have to do is tweet at them as easily as they would their BFF. It’s doesn’t even matter if the person in question responds or not... just the act of reaching out to them has convinced the kid they have a relationship now and that they’re owed something in return. That’s where the sense of entitlement comes in.

So when you have these cheer-lebrities thrust into the limelight whether they sought it or not, it's no surprise to me that their fans are reacting like this. It might even be magnified because these cheer-lebrities are young, relatable, and accessible at cheer competitions.
The behavior is super gross and weird, and I honestly have no idea who has the time to create these fan pages and seek out the attention of these people they don't even know. All because a kid took a viral pic? It’s unbalanced and creepy. So yeah, I don’t blame cheer-lebrities for straight up running away from stalkers who’ve convinced themselves that I owe them something and whine about it when I don’t deliver. I would too.

Individual gyms and coaches can squash it by telling athletes at competitions to back off the cheerlebreties. The gyms themselves can ask for privacy and space for their athletes. Also, the event staff can also take steps to cool it down a bit. Also, gyms can have heart to hearts with parents about the pros and cons of pimping out Suzy on social media and getting her all these endorsements for posh pony and that stuff. Parents can actually parent and reinforce what the gyms and coaches are telling them. They can also teach their kids appropriate behavior and have consequences when things go too far. This is all the result of a toxic culture in this sport. And we absolutely could change it if we wanted. The question is do we truly want to do that?

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Individual gyms and coaches can squash it by telling athletes at competitions to back off the cheerlebreties. The gyms themselves can ask for privacy and space for their athletes. Also, the event staff can also take steps to cool it down a bit. Also, gyms can have heart to hearts with parents about the pros and cons of pimping out Suzy on social media and getting her all these endorsements for posh pony and that stuff. Parents can actually parent and reinforce what the gyms and coaches are telling them. They can also teach their kids appropriate behavior and have consequences when things go too far. This is all the result of a toxic culture in this sport. And we absolutely could change it if we wanted. The question is do we truly want to do that?

To that I say: anon accounts.

You can tell your kid a thousand times not to bully on Twitter and they might know in their higher brain not to do it, but the temptation of an anon account from which they can hide behind while they spout off all the terrible things they never get to say in real life is very seductive.