OT Jerry From "cheer"
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Yeah, it’s true there is an investigation happening but I don’t think he’s been charged.
Jerry Harris from Cheer under FBI investigation
I personally hope this isn’t true — just like you always hope abuse allegations aren’t true and that kids really aren’t being abused — but this all looks pretty damning. And ultimately it doesn’t matter how the fans feel; what matters is believing the victims enough to investigate their claims and then seeing what is found.
I've been trying to follow this story as best I can.
I have also noticed an effort on the part of the cheer industry to try to cover it up. (some) Gym owners knew for a while that this story was about to break and were trying to find out how much the parents had heard. (some) Cheer FB groups have been censoring posts about the situation. Which tells me that that they are really run by Varsity/USASF but under the guise of being parent managed.
All the news articles say that USASF did not act on reports of inappropriate and illegal conduct. They are the Human Resources Dept of cheer. They are designed to protect the company, not the participant.
I have also noticed an effort on the part of the cheer industry to try to cover it up. (some) Gym owners knew for a while that this story was about to break and were trying to find out how much the parents had heard. (some) Cheer FB groups have been censoring posts about the situation. Which tells me that that they are really run by Varsity/USASF but under the guise of being parent managed.
All the news articles say that USASF did not act on reports of inappropriate and illegal conduct. They are the Human Resources Dept of cheer. They are designed to protect the company, not the participant.
I've seen a bit on social media of:
"He would never!"
"I don't believe this! These people are lying."
"My daughter met him at ---- he would never!"
"He coached at ---- and people loved him these people are money-hungry!"
Yes, this is still a pending investigation & I would love for it to all be false.
But as a sidenote, here's the thing about abusers:
The abuser isn't abusive to everyone.
That's why I've never been a fan of "This person was so sweet and kind to my daughter there is no way he could have done that to this person."
Of course that person is sweet and kind to some others! If they were abusive to everyone, everyone would see that they were an abuser.
Part of their cover is being a great person, teacher, counselor, coach, tutor, priest, pastor, etc.
That's how kids become victims, that's what keeps parents unsuspecting, etc.
If abusers were creepy and pervy upon first meeting, it wouldn't work.
This is coming from someone who has witnessed the fallout at her place of employment when a much beloved aide did same thing. Parents came to his defense early on because their kids loved him, he coached baseball, etc.
"He would never!"
"I don't believe this! These people are lying."
"My daughter met him at ---- he would never!"
"He coached at ---- and people loved him these people are money-hungry!"
Yes, this is still a pending investigation & I would love for it to all be false.
But as a sidenote, here's the thing about abusers:
The abuser isn't abusive to everyone.
That's why I've never been a fan of "This person was so sweet and kind to my daughter there is no way he could have done that to this person."
Of course that person is sweet and kind to some others! If they were abusive to everyone, everyone would see that they were an abuser.
Part of their cover is being a great person, teacher, counselor, coach, tutor, priest, pastor, etc.
That's how kids become victims, that's what keeps parents unsuspecting, etc.
If abusers were creepy and pervy upon first meeting, it wouldn't work.
This is coming from someone who has witnessed the fallout at her place of employment when a much beloved aide did same thing. Parents came to his defense early on because their kids loved him, he coached baseball, etc.
I’m genuinely shocked and disgusted. I am so sorry all of his victims had to experience this and I hope anyone else doing this same behavior is also investigated and charged.
I have a strange feeling that we will be seeing more of these stories coming to light in the next few months/weeks.
I feel like there have been occasional rumblings of inappropriate behavior in the cheer world, but that people have just been too hesitant to say more, not wanting to be "that person" who tells on a coach or well-known athlete, etc. so it doesn't gain any traction and people forget about it.
This is likely not an isolated event or incident and I hope that people start speaking up.
I feel like there have been occasional rumblings of inappropriate behavior in the cheer world, but that people have just been too hesitant to say more, not wanting to be "that person" who tells on a coach or well-known athlete, etc. so it doesn't gain any traction and people forget about it.
This is likely not an isolated event or incident and I hope that people start speaking up.
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Yeah you’re probably right. I just hope this doesn’t taint cheer/dance/gymnastics permanently. We already get so much crap. Because the fact of the matter is: abusers are everywhere. This crap happens in all kinds of sports. But I feel like cheerleading as a whole will suffer the image-related consequences because we wear skirts, so what could we possibly expect but to attract abusers? Nevermind the fact that the victims in this case were male.
My roommate saw the USA Today article a few days ago, but I didn't see it get picked up anywhere so I wasn't sure if it was real or not.
DING. DING. DING.
Abusers don't just groom/abuse victims, they also groom accomplices. And that's what makes these things so insidious- they cultivate the perfect cover. Also many gravitate towards positions of authority (shielding them even more), and target those who are least likely to speak up. It's that line from Ella Enchanted*: 'Who are you going to believe: this lying little twit or the man who raised you?' (Weird reference, but we'll go with it)
That's what makes things like the church abuse so heinous- they deliberately sent abusers to places where the victims would be less likely to be believed ie poor, immigrant or at-risk communities, etc.
*Screwed up my Anne Hathaway Princess movies..
I just read a statement from CA saying they were made aware of the allegations back in May. Assuming the timeline is the same for her and she learned of the allegations after the cheer season had ended and the athletes were no longer in her “jurisdiction,” I’m not sure how much she could’ve done outside of reporting it.
Plus I think she’s small potatoes in terms of reportage. I don’t think the mom would’ve come to her first, if at all. It’s Varsity and USASF that the onus really falls on.
I believe the victims are CA athletes.
Wouldn't the burden of "what did you know and when did you know it" lie there first?
Secondarily yes, I would agree that Varsity has some liability for sure.
I wasn't aware they were CA athletes; the USA Today article never mentions how the victims came in contact with Harris. I assumed it was through a camp or something, and that the mother reported the allegations to CA because 1) that's where Harris trains, and 2) they're pretty high-profile but also very accessible to her (you can literally just walk in the door as opposed to maybe getting lost in the shuffle trying to contact Varsity).
If they're CA athletes, then yes CA owed them due diligence. But assuming they did that when they reported the allegations in May, then the question is why Varsity didn't report the allegations to law enforcement until August 1?
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