College Kentucky Cheer Dismisses 4 Coaches Following Hazing Investigation

[Sterling von Shimmer]

No disrespect intended but your statement “icing her out” would be considered retaliation. The University has decided to mitigate this issue by placing the team directly under Athletics starting next season. No one will be “icing” anyone if the incoming coach understands the terms of employment. Additionally, all members of the student body have protection under Title IX whether a student-athlete or in a sorority as an example. Coaches, faculty, and all employees are trained in knowing and recognizing Title IX violations and institutional rules. They are expected as part of their employment to comply. Hazing is taken very seriously. Even if it happened ONCE and it remained unreported it would be a retention issue.It looks as if Kentucky has made the added decision to have this team follow NCAA rules. As far as kids being kids... the University probably looked at this through a liability lens. Naked basket tosses? Skinny dipping while intoxicated? And throwing baskets (whether drunk or not off a boat or wet dock)... Pretend for one moment a team was to do this at a hotel pool when competing...would a staff employee stop it? Someone gets seriously hurt and cameras pick that up from someone’s watch and there is an issue at hand. Pretend that pool or docked boat was in the middle of campus... would team kids think they could put on that show and it would be allowed to continue with administration watching? So being at a secluded camp/retreat doesn’t alter the fact that it happened.

That’s the beauty of it: if literally no one speaks to you or associates with you, there is no wrongdoing. You can’t punish people for literally not doing anything to you.

Yeah it would obviously be retaliation, but if mom/daughter try and bring such an accusation to the school, the admin’s first question is going to be, “Ok so what did they do that was retaliative?”

And they’re going to look really stupid if their only answer is, “Well, nothing.“ It’s going to be very hard to prove and punish.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

That’s the beauty of it: if literally no one speaks to you or associates with you, there is no wrongdoing. You can’t punish people for literally not doing anything to you.

Yeah it would obviously be retaliation, but if mom/daughter try and bring such an accusation to the school, the admin’s first question is going to be, “Ok so what did they do that was retaliative?”

And they’re going to look really stupid if their only answer is, “Well, nothing.“ It’s going to be very hard to prove and punish.

High school girls are really good at this.

Girl to me: They're bullying me.
Bullies: We didn't even do anything.
Girl to me: Yes they did.
Bullies: All we did was delete her from our group chat and block her on IG.

Looks like nothing. Gets desired affect from Girl. Bullying win.

 

[GreatWhite92]

I feel for the girl. I can bet wherever she ends up at, nobody is going to be inviting her to stuff outside of cheer. Who invites someone to a party that might snitch on you? Whether that is her mother’s fault or her own, who knows.

I think as a coach, you have to set expectations to the team that everyone deserves respect as a teammate and coaches shouldn’t put up with any shenanigans that puts the team at risk.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

High school girls are really good at this.

Girl to me: They're bullying me.
Bullies: We didn't even do anything.
Girl to me: Yes they did.
Bullies: All we did was delete her from our group chat and block her on IG.

Looks like nothing. Gets desired affect from Girl. Bullying win.

But even those two tiny things constitute doing something. I’m talking about giving her not one thing to work with. I’d support doing such a thing in this case if only so the athletes could protect themselves. Because even if they never do anything wrong to her or anyone, people like this will take something like eye contact from a teammate and make an issue of it.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

The mom’s Facebook posts- wow. Everything is public and recent (days and hours old) and you would think from her posts that she is a paid advertisement for UK Cheer. Kid has tried out and made a different college team. Tryout placements were announced a few weeks ago. How would you like to be that college coach right now?

Haven’t other, better athletes been booted because of their moms in the past? At least in AS?

I wonder if they could kick her off for this alone. Or if there’s precedent for that. Because if it were me, I would not feel comfortable working with this mom. Not because I’d be scared of any shady practices coming to light, but because she seems very litigious and I just wouldn’t want to deal with that. That would have to count for something, right? “Hostile working conditions” or something?

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

I just thought: could they appeal? Isn’t it possible to argue that these antics were “common practice” among sports teams (because I’m positive they are) and the cheer team is being unjustly targeted?

ETA: I’m sure similar behavior from other sports teams (football, basketball) was reported to the school without a coach being fired at some point during Jomo’s run. I’m positive.

 

[SMD]

The mom’s Facebook posts- wow. Everything is public and recent (days and hours old) and you would think from her posts that she is a paid advertisement for UK Cheer. Kid has tried out and made a different college team. Tryout placements were announced a few weeks ago. How would you like to be that college coach right now?

 

[Kentucky Girl]

So does this mean the end of the Kentucky cheerleading dynasty?

 

[coacha]

People, this is why there are whistleblower laws. You don't want the crazy, disgruntled parent to get you fired? Don't allow illegal and/or hazing things to happen on your watch. There was illegal drinking and nudity happening at a team sponsored retreat. What was UK supposed to do once it was brought to their attention? Shrug and say the mom is just mad her kid didn't make the team? THAT would have been a PR nightmare.

Now as for kids being kids....I am old now, but once upon a time I was an incoming freshman on a no-name college cheer team. I was already in awe and worried about fitting in. Had they been doing topless and pantless basket tosses at a team building event, I would have been mortified, but also, worried that I needed to join in to fit in. That makes it wrong, especially since it is happening at what I assume is a mandatory team building retreat. If the team members have to be there, then what happens has to be appropriate.

And while we seem to forget this minor detail when discussing college students, the legal drinking age is still 21. That means all non-seniors on that team are illegally drinking. Again, not something you can allow to happen at a mandatory team event.

I don't care that they are college students and it supposedly happens all the time. I don't care that the mom was pissed that her kid didn't make the right team. You absolutely have to remember that as a coach you are the responsible party to what those kids are doing. (And yes, college students are still kids...) Can you imagine the uproar if a video had gotten out of the tosses?

There was illegal drinking and nudity at a team sponsored event. If you are coaches of that team, the buck stops there.

 

[catlady]

It was handled appropriately. The only thing I'll dispute is these aren't "kids," they are adults when it comes to law. Parents better start telling their adult aged college students these "traditions, college life antics and hazing" that went on and were often overlooked in our day, are now taken seriously and ending up on permanent records no matter who is supposed to be watching. The amount of chaperoned "kids" that get adult third degree felony charges in FL for showing a fake ID is no joke.

 

[coacha]

It was handled appropriately. The only thing I'll dispute is these aren't "kids," they are adults when it comes to law. Parents better start telling their adult aged college students these "traditions, college life antics and hazing" that went on and were often overlooked in our day, are now taken seriously and ending up on permanent records no matter who is supposed to be watching. The amount of chaperoned "kids" that get adult third degree felony charges in FL for showing a fake ID is no joke.

This is true.

My point about the students being “kids” is as the coach, it is our job to be the stick-in-the-mud adult in the situation. Don’t let it happen at team sanctioned events or be prepared to lose your job.

 

[coacha]

I just thought: could they appeal? Isn’t it possible to argue that these antics were “common practice” among sports teams (because I’m positive they are) and the cheer team is being unjustly targeted?

ETA: I’m sure similar behavior from other sports teams (football, basketball) was reported to the school without a coach being fired at some point during Jomo’s run. I’m positive.

The retreat was a team sanctioned event. There is no way the NCAA would allow this kind of stuff to happen at an official event for any sport without sanctions on the coaches or school as a whole.

Perhaps a reason why cheer needs to come under NCAA’s oversight.

 

[SMD]

I’m not dismissing the underaged drinking, nor the nudity. Yes coaches need to be responsible. Absolutely. But the motivation for this by the parent is so egregious. And The plot thickens, If reports are to be believed the mother has filed a 28 million dollar lawsuit against UK for her daughter’s emotional trauma. Interesting the daughter does not look at all traumatized in Pics posted by the mom of her time at UK. The incidents happened in the summer, she wasn’t traumatized then, but now? And after her tryout at Clemson where she supposedly made the team.? Delving further there is aLegal court decision where she filed a lawsuit against a school district in WV. Grievances were filed by both her and complainant for harassment, hostile work environment etc. It states, at one point she filed 38 grievances against the HS Principal, when asked by the principal why are you doing this she replied “so you will resign “. She was looking to be hired for his job. She was an assistant VP. There are complaints that she went after the complainants child. This is not fabricated. There are no words to describe some one like this.

 

[chardaeeeee]

I’m not dismissing the underaged drinking, nor the nudity. Yes coaches need to be responsible. Absolutely. But the motivation for this by the parent is so egregious. And The plot thickens, If reports are to be believed the mother has filed a 28 million dollar lawsuit against UK for her daughter’s emotional trauma. Interesting the daughter does not look at all traumatized in Pics posted by the mom of her time at UK. The incidents happened in the summer, she wasn’t traumatized then, but now? And after her tryout at Clemson where she supposedly made the team.? Delving further there is aLegal court decision where she filed a lawsuit against a school district in WV. Grievances were filed by both her and complainant for harassment, hostile work environment etc. It states, at one point she filed 38 grievances against the HS Principal, when asked by the principal why are you doing this she replied “so you will resign “. She was looking to be hired for his job. She was an assistant VP. There are complaints that she went after the complainants child. This is not fabricated. There are no words to describe some one like this.

.....28 million over your kid being moved to a different team. SICK

What mom would keep their kid on a team MONTHS after the incident? If she was experiencing emotional trauma it should have been brought to light long before 3 months ago. Their UK post (even within the last 24 hours) makes it seem like they BLEED blue. I wonder if anyone saw it coming.

 

[krystynakrez]

Not to be insensitive but... kids get moved to different teams all the time. Susie isn't the first and won't be the last, and as an outsider looking in, wanting 28m for said "distress" is absolutely ridiculous.