All-Star Hairgate 2015 - Mom Upset Daughter Is Off The Team Because She Wont Straighten Hair For Competitions

[Official OWECheer]

I haven't commented on any of this, and rarely comment on anything. However I will say, we have been at WE for 6 years. My middle daughter somehow always ends up on a team requiring curls. She has about 100 strands of hair total ;) it is super fine and thin. She sleeps in curl formers with a can of freeze it to "cement" her hair as she says. By the time she takes the floor it is straight/semi wavy again. In all our six years not one single coach, owner, anyone as ever said a word to me about it. I TRY and that is all they have ever cared about. They know she is a team player, we do everything we can to look the part, and when that child goes out there with hair "semi wavy, not curly" it is no big deal. We do not complain, we have a positive attitude, and once again we TRY. That is all they have ever asked. On another note. I happened to witness one of this moms meltdowns on a Sunday, when their location was doing a performance at the location we are at. She was yelling, using vulgar language and making a scene in front people in the lobby area. Kids of all ages, including my 6 and 9 year old and several of our Y3 kids walking by were in her presence. The biggest thing I have taken from this whole issue is that I truly appreciate the way WE has handled this entire situation. They got the negativity away from the kids, and that is ultimately all that matters.

Can I screenshot your comment for Twitter?

 

[123jump4!]

This is now "trending" on my facebook and I'm not in Texas. Reading some of the comments on facebook, some people say that a team not having the same hair (all straight or all curly) would affect the score negatively. I was under the impression it doesn't affect the score and is more about an image thing? I need to google pictures of Worlds winning teams and check the hair. :)

 

[Official OWECheer]

Why are people assuming that every other girl on the team had bone-straight hair?

 

[yooolizzi]

Maybe its because I'm young and everything is big deal to me now but my hair has aways been a big part of my identity. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my natural hair might no be that bad and for me to realize that I had to accept who I was and stop trying to be what I'm not. My hair has always been a symbol of that struggle for me its one of the most noticeble ways for me that just screams "IM DIFFERENT" for better or worse.

I have curly hair. Very curly hair. As in, I can't wash it more than twice a week or it will break off. It's fine, processed, and very curly. I was born with curly hair, so I've had 19 years of curly hair. I've cheered 11 out of those 19 years, and had to straighten, curl, and tease my hair to be uniform, in a sport that is very much image based. 9 times out of 10, if my hair is styled, it is for cheerleading. It is possible to rock your curly locks and still be true to who you are because what you look like in uniform is not who you are as a person! For maybe a few hours, you are the image of your gym, school, organization-whatever. But outside of that, no one is telling you that you can't have great curly hair.

 

[SL&AM]

Why are people assuming that every other girl on the team had bone-straight hair?

Because that would mean people would have to accept that this is really a non-issue.

 

[TealShades]

Ugh I feel you guys pain with hair stuff. At least once a week I want to pull out my hair lol.
Also I hope the adult coloring books are a thing. I love to color.

 

[CheerBank]

I think it said her father is half Mexican. Or her mother is half Mexican. The daughter is 1/4 Mexican. Not that I think her ethnicity has anything to do with this.

Randomactsofcheer breakdown of events:

Mother becomes irate when the gym suggests a compromise instead of immediately saying "Yes" to her special snowflake having the most specialist, super power hair at competitions.

Mother becomes belligerent when asked to leave. The police are called. Mother leaves before police arrive but the damage is done. Daughter is removed from the team.

Mother seeks revenge by reporting her "story" to the media that her daughter was kicked off the team for having curly hair. Mother says she will look for another gym for daughter.

Story gets picked up by national news. Headlines of more reputable news sources are now "Girls is kicked off cheer team for refusing to straighten her hair." Mother tries to find daughter new cheer gym but no one will return her phone calls.

Mother realizes that putting the spotlight on her daughter at this angle may have not been the best idea. Now she is reporting that it wasn't just her daughter, that two other girls had the same problem. And now the race/ethnicity angle is brought in. Mother also begins to tell reporters that her daughter may never go back to cheer and that she is now looking into finding classes for her at local gymnastics gyms so she can still tumble.

Next will be the mother crying on camera because no gyms will accept her daughter for who she is.

The end.

I want to shimmy, like and rate this as funny simultaneously. Thank you for the enjoyable read.

 

[Cheer0825]

I have curly hair. Very curly hair. As in, I can't wash it more than twice a week or it will break off. It's fine, processed, and very curly. I was born with curly hair, so I've had 19 years of curly hair. I've cheered 11 out of those 19 years, and had to straighten, curl, and tease my hair to be uniform, in a sport that is very much image based. 9 times out of 10, if my hair is styled, it is for cheerleading. It is possible to rock your curly locks and still be true to who you are because what you look like in uniform is not who you are as a person! For maybe a few hours, you are the image of your gym, school, organization-whatever. But outside of that, no one is telling you that you can't have great curly hair.

I get that and I promise that I didnt complain about the rules at all and did my best to follow them while I was there. Its just now that I'm gone and I see how fun competition really can be its almost as if I completely missed out on it all those years because I just felt so self conscious about my hair. Now I get to feel a lot more confident on stage which seems like a big big deal to me because thats what we work for all those months. But thats definitely a me thing and I wouldnt expect a gym to make any special accommodations for me at all and that wasnt my only reason for leaving my old gym.

 

[TealShades]

I want to shimmy, like and rate this as funny simultaneously. Thank you for the enjoyable read.

I wanted to shimmy, rate funny and rate imformative for that post. I went with shimmy.

 

[CheerBank]

I'm now getting ads for lice treatment/removal thanks to this thread.

 

[Official OWECheer]

I'm even seeing people saying that there must be more to the story.

Critical thinkers have restored my faith in the human race.

 

[TealShades]

I'm now getting ads for lice treatment/removal thanks to this thread.

I'm getting safe styling eco friendly ads lol. At least it's not lice. Now I'm thinking about Lady lightning a voice over. Because it sounds like lice not ice lol

 

[SL&AM]

ok, what's next.....i can just hear it now.....well my daughter can't really wear that uni. the color does nothing for her.

OMG I will silence anyone who says this to me...not only did my HS dance team make us wear Prostitute trash-bag stripper outfits, my first year of AS dance was a full on orange leopard looking get-up...I'm not only a red head, you can see my veins I am that pale. It was tragic!

 

[SL&AM]

My ad is the Starbucks red cup---from one scandal to another! I blame Underwood!

 

[TealShades]

My ad is the Starbucks red cup---from one scandal to another! I blame Underwood!

Omg I saw that on good morning America. Red cup not Christmassy enough is news worthy.