All-Star Rockstar Cheer founder Scott Foster died today by suicide.

[lakerfantlc]

I'm not sure about smoking (someone else may know), but there were videos of him drinking with underage athletes.

I also heard it is way more than just partying with athletes.... it will all come out soon enough

 

[luv2cheer92]

I also heard it is way more than just partying with athletes.... it will all come out soon enough

There has been quite a bit that has already come out.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Yeah I won’t openly speculate, but if it’s true that DHS is involved that’s very concerning.

 

[catlady]

I just want to know why these sports governing bodies can't get this under control? Why do we wait till the FBI and Homeland get involved? Like Nassar in gymnastics.. and it happens in cheer a lot. Perhaps the probation thing doesnt work. USASF and Varsity need to crack down on this stuff and hard...its out of hand

You wait for the FBI and Homeland security, because they are law enforcement and a governing body is not. Governing bodies are to report any accusations of laws broken to law enforcement. Other than that, they can only enforce their code of conduct. If a person is under criminal investigation, the USASF's code of conduct states they can terminate their membership. With that said, this was a sting operation.

Banning/probation: I can't speak from a sport governing body standpoint, but I can from corporate retail. We used to ban known repeat thieves from coming into the stores and it was a joke. Employees were not allowed to approach them (legality reasons), so by the time the police arrived, they were usually gone, or just asked to leave. They'd wait for the police to leave and enter the store, again. Only once, did I witness an officer give a ticket for trespassing, and the fines were minimal according to the officer without property damage.

 

[Deleted member 105812]

First, any young girls or women that may have been negatively affected or hurt by this program, coaches, or Scott, my heart is truly broken for.

This hits so close to home for me (for someone so out of touch with cheer and what Scott/rockstar may have or may not have become), because of the impact he had on me as a 14 ish year old and the next few years in the early 2000s. I was quite literally last weekend, telling a group of cynical adults how the best motivator and coach I had in any form of my life had been this young male cheerleader…straight out of a great cheering school, who cared nothing about high school politics or how things were done at (high school), the standards we previously had or what gym, who you were or what you looked like, only a new idea of what “cheerleading” was, I said militaristic practices etc haha to say the least, the toughest standard but if you met it…your coach was proud. He changed everything for so many girls at my high school at that time, just what “cheer” even could be. Some hated it…I hated him most days, but ate it up in a way that I helped coach tumbling form to anyone that cared to try harder too.

He wasn’t the first in the area to push our high school squads to be what they became, but he was by far, the best to me. I’ve loved and defended “cheerleading” for 20 plus years because of Scott and the true competitive sport or whatever critics want to frame it as, introduced into my life at that time. My friends and I signed up for thigh stands and Pom poms haha and we got a new coach that told us that bad news, we were awful, but good news…he had nothing but time and patience…if you would keep showing up and didn’t get your feelings hurt easily.

There are aspects of cheer I know are negative…maybe I was so affected I can’t separate the good from bad. I felt like it was so positive for me and my close friends….I remember he and his wife when they were young, my heart breaks for his family and whoever he was in 2022 that led to this tragedy.

Apologies for the rambling post…a quick search shows I’ve missed much in recent years…tough news for someone you have always held in such high regard. What can you say….

 

[NJ Coach]

@Gvlsc2000 Thank you for sharing your story. I'm sure there are going to be many people just like you, trying to process the information that is coming out and grieving for the person they knew.

 

[L5cheermom]

As we all expected this is going to get interesting. Bakari Sellers is saying his law firm is representing victims and they have USASF in their sights. He’s arguably one of the most connected and highest profile attorneys in SC.

 

[L5cheermom]

And the franchises are dropping out. The Charleston, SC gym notified families today. Wonder if others will follow suit.

 

[FloridaFlya]

I will delete if this isn’t relevant, but I felt compelled to share this. Posted on Twitter this morning. I did not do the highlighting, that was already there.

I’m not sure what happened, but I will say, if the Rockstar investigation opened up other program’s eyes and will make them adhere by the standards, then so be it. Terrible that it had to get to this point, especially following what happened with Jerry, but like someone said, maybe this will spark industry wide change that has been needed for a long time. Gyms now realize victims will take a stand- even if it means legal action.

 

[quitthedrama]

I will delete if this isn’t relevant, but I felt compelled to share this. Posted on Twitter this morning. I did not do the highlighting, that was already there.

I’m not sure what happened, but I will say, if the Rockstar investigation opened up other program’s eyes and will make them adhere by the standards, then so be it. Terrible that it had to get to this point, especially following what happened with Jerry, but like someone said, maybe this will spark industry wide change that has been needed for a long time. Gyms now realize victims will take a stand- even if it means legal action.

Sadly, the Jerry incident didn't change a damn thing. His coaches and gym owners were character witnesses for him. There is very little of this industry that does not have a skeleton in their closet - Jerry grew up in a culture that taught him the things he did were normal. The silence on social media this past week from those that matter has been deafening.

 

[catlady]

I will delete if this isn’t relevant, but I felt compelled to share this. Posted on Twitter this morning. I did not do the highlighting, that was already there.

I’m not sure what happened, but I will say, if the Rockstar investigation opened up other program’s eyes and will make them adhere by the standards, then so be it. Terrible that it had to get to this point, especially following what happened with Jerry, but like someone said, maybe this will spark industry wide change that has been needed for a long time. Gyms now realize victims will take a stand- even if it means legal action.

I, personally, am elated it was a sting operation and thanks to whomever reported it and to our federal agencies that actually took it seriously. Let these gym owners and coaches wonder if their next employee or client is there to investigate them and their staff.

I'm, also, grateful that many laws are changing after the Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastic tragedy. Change starts from the top down and it begins with Federal and State laws and agencies. If they take it seriously and it results in prison time, business loss, and reputation, then people will open their eyes and take action. Not so fun fact, the FBI was involved in the USA Gymnastic tragedy and lied about it and the DOJ stated they will not prosecute those FBI agents that lied. <article>

 

[cachoi]

And the franchises are dropping out. The Charleston, SC gym notified families today. Wonder if others will follow suit.

Here the rest come.

 

[L5cheermom]

I will delete if this isn’t relevant, but I felt compelled to share this. Posted on Twitter this morning. I did not do the highlighting, that was already there.

I’m not sure what happened, but I will say, if the Rockstar investigation opened up other program’s eyes and will make them adhere by the standards, then so be it. Terrible that it had to get to this point, especially following what happened with Jerry, but like someone said, maybe this will spark industry wide change that has been needed for a long time. Gyms now realize victims will take a stand- even if it means legal

Here the rest come.

Looks like it’s all of them at this point.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

A few years back I feel like many people on here predicted that nothing would seriously happen in regards to inappropriate behavior and perverts in the sport until something happens that causes one of the larger mega gyms to close.

I think we’re seeing this happen in real time.

 

[FloridaFlya]

According to this article, there are 101 victims.

Cheerleading Boss Ran Sex Abuse Empire Before Suicide, Lawsuit Says

Days after he died, the former titan and some bold-faced businesses were all accused of being part of a for-profit nightmare.

www.thedailybeast.com