On June 15, Kirstin Wakefield, the mother of the [13-year-old] girl seen [in] the video, sent an email to the assistant principal who was put on leave this week, asking what the administration planned to do about the incidents, according to KUSA.I have not watched the video.
“I have attached a video of the forced splits she and her other team members were forced to do at cheerleading camp and practices; unless they had a doctor’s note,” it read. "My husband and I would like to know what the administration is going to do about my daughter’s injury and how it happened.”
In an on-camera interview with KUSA, Ms. Wakefield said: “This is a grown man pushing my 13-year-old girl so hard against her will, while she’s crying and screaming for him to stop, that he’s ripping tissues in her body.”
ADDED: The NYT hides the racial aspect of the case, but here, in The Denver Post, you can see that Ozell Williams is a black man.
Williams, who is also the founder of Mile High Tumblers 5280, said that what is shown in the video is being taken out of context. “You can definitely say that what was in the video could be seen in a different light,” Williams said. “I would love to tell my story, but I can’t say anything else at this time.”
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63 comments:
I won't read anything from the NYT but doing 'splits' is a part of being a cheerleader. She should have know that before going to the camp. OTOH, if this 'coach' forced an injury on her then she has a case.
Mockturtle,
Doing splits, as with any stretching of the body, requires that one develop limberness gradually. Forcing a stretch--or a split--beyond the body's capability to do it can cause physical injury.
Cheerleaders are still a thing?
Don't watch it Althouse. It's painful and sad. I wish I hadn't.
Gymnasts and dancers do splits, but they work up to it gradually. This girl had not, and what the coach did to her was brutal, stupid, and useless.
Could have been worse. Could have been Band Camp.
Why is a man in charge of "Cheerleader Camp"?
This guy should be fired. What he did was dangerous and abusive.
@Annie, thanks for the warning.
@rcocean, I had the same question.
One would think that purposely tearing someone's ligaments would result in a prison sentence.
You should watch the video.
Of course if the races had been reversed, with four white people torturing a black kid, the racial component would not have been carefully concealed by the article.
After reading the story, I watched the vid. Another cheerleader is applying minimal pressure. As sports related conditioning, does not seem extreme to me. Should have stopped because she obviously did not like it. Story does not indicate medical attention or extent of injuries.
As a parent, I would be pissed off.
Why is a man in charge of "Cheerleader Camp"?
I am sure the upcoming installment of "I am Laslo, Girl's Cheerleader Coach" will explain that.
Ozell need a jail cell...
There are four people, one a grown man, pinning down a girl. Sadistic, torture, and likely race-based.
Football players are forced to do splats.
I remember getting seriously out of breath running cross-country.
I would put this in the category of another hazing ritual gone bad, using sought after group membership to coerce participation where the risk is unjustified, however well-intentioned the eventual goal of belonging, shared status or achievement.
rhhardin said...
Football players are forced to do splats.
There is a significant difference between being forced to by the threat of being cut from the team, and being forced to by literally being held down and physically pushed into a certain position.
"Ms. Wakefield and her husband, Eric, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. It was not clear how seriously injured their daughter was injured."
After reading hysterical comments, I watched the vid several more times.
You guys are right, black on white hate crime, coach and other cheerleaders participating in torture should be locked up and throw away the key..
Tell you who will suffer most from this thing, the crying girl, who, no doubt, did not want her parents exposing her to ridicule not only from her peers, but from the rest of the country.
In an on-camera interview with KUSA, Ms. Wakefield said: “This is a grown man pushing my 13-year-old girl so hard against her will...
Ms. Wakefield is criticizing the black coach? Clearly she is not Ms. Wokefield.
I am sure the upcoming installment of "I am Laslo, Girl's Cheerleader Coach" will explain that.
Laslo is too busy writing a guide on "How to Get a Job Coaching a Topless Women's Trampoline Team."
Blogger Curious George said...
Could have been worse. Could have been Band Camp.
And you have no agenda in saying that, do you George?
Sir John of the Zika
I wonder what kind of Release Form the parents signed when they enrolled their daughter in this camp.
Is color diversity relevant to discerning whether the events were an exercise in excess or abuse?
My boys get this in gymnastics.
Not like what you see in the video, but they do get pushed down I to the splits by the coach or other boys. No one has been injured by this because they don't push hard, just a little so it burns.
Once they have the splits, they go to chairs so gravity pulls them lower.
From the local news interviews with parents, it sure looks as if all the girls forced to do splits were white. The coach and other cheerleaders doing the forcing are black. Be interesting to see the racial composition of the four suspended school district employees (including the principal) who did nothing about the complaints and videos until confronted by the local TV station last week.
Racism is rampant in the US, alright, just not where MSM cares to look.
I watched the video, and like EDH, it struck he as a hazing ritual gone wrong.
"me"
That is not how one learns to do splits. I was a gymnast that both competed and coached internationally. The way to learn splits is as follows:
Get as low as you can without hurting yourself, hands on the floor. Then, contract your leg muscles as hard as you can for a count of ten. Then relax your leg muscles. You will go a little lower than when you started. Not a lot, but a little bit. Repeat nine more times. Do this twice a day, every day and eventually, you will have perfect splits.
Never bounce or force your muscles. You'll likely hurt yourself.
A corollary to Internet Rule 34: someone, somewhere, WILL masturbate to this video.
I am Laslo.
Why is guy coaching cheer leading? The same reason women are calling football games, and hanging out in the players locker room.
That is not how one learns to do splits. I was a gymnast that both competed and coached internationally. The way to learn splits is as follows:
Get as low as you can without hurting yourself, hands on the floor. Then, contract your leg muscles as hard as you can for a count of ten. Then relax your leg muscles. You will go a little lower than when you started. Not a lot, but a little bit. Repeat nine more times. Do this twice a day, every day and eventually, you will have perfect splits.
Never bounce or force your muscles. You'll likely hurt yourself.
Skippy, it would have been smart to instruct these girls to practice these exercises well prior to the camp, wouldn't it? Sounds like the entire program was poorly run.
The concept of being a cheerleader coach sounds intriguing. For just that reason I would avoid such a position like the plague.,,,.There's a catch 22 here. If you wish to be a cheerleader coach, you shouldn't be one.
Skippy says:
Get as low as you can without hurting yourself, hands on the floor. Then, contract your leg muscles as hard as you can for a count of ten. Then relax your leg muscles. You will go a little lower than when you started. Not a lot, but a little bit. Repeat nine more times. Do this twice a day, every day and eventually, you will have perfect splits.
Never bounce or force your muscles. You'll likely hurt yourself.
Best for any stretches.
As opposed to old school karate. judo instructors, "no pain, no gain"
If you feel your hymen ripping, you aren't doing it right.
Yeah, for sure, don't watch the tape. I'm sorry I did.
there are probably better and worse ways to progress toward splits
and people who shouldn't
Anyone who has an acquaintance with top-level gymnastics or ballet knows that "overstretching" -- in other words, the practice shown in this video -- is a standard tool to achieve flexibility. That doesn't mean it should have been used in this instance, but it's simply not as titillating or racist as your readers (or the Times') believe.
Becky, you in danger girl!
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, cause they splitting erbody up in here!
He's hot
The videos bad. Everyone that is holding her down is black and she is a major cracker. I teach color guard and the girls have to be limber and do the splits. I can still do the splits and I always get complimented for my downward facing dog.
tits
This is child abuse. The way to gain the splits is practicing at home in one's bedroom every day on a yoga mat with relaxing music in the background. Definitely not with a screaming coach in one ear and bullies holding you down forcing you into it.
Hiding the racial aspect of the case? How many white guys are named Ozell, seriously?
Some girls don’t want to join Mile High Tumblers under pressure on the ground, in a sub, or airborne. I don’t think color matters. Or should. I’m not sure the NYT hid color: maybe, maybe not. And I don’t care. Nor does Arnold Schwarzenegger or Arnold Palmer. The girl is hurt.
And if I were her father ... mmmmm, mmmmm. Not good.
Surprised at the delicacy of the commeteriat today. It hurt, but was not abuse or criminal. How many other girls were crying? Like I said, Mom did not do any favors with that vid. Kid gonna be humiliated by her peers.
Other related headlines in Denver media: "Claims to be Olympic athlete - but he's not" "Fired last year for doing same thing".
I suspect all the suspensions of the school administrators might be related to their hiring and vetting practices.
It could have been worse.
She could have been Polish and stuck to the floor.
I didn't watch the video, barely read the blog, and skipped all the comments.
Reverse the racial makeup. Have the coach and the girls holding the victim white and the victim black.
The physical fitness industry is a cesspool of stupid ideas. This kind of stretching pops up on a cycle.
White girl bend a lot.
The concept of coaching the cheerleaders squad sounds intriguing. For that reason I would avoid it like the plague. Catch-22 is applicable. Any man who wants to coach the cheerleaders should not be allowed to do so.
Glad to see you had the courage to speak to the fact that this young girl was surrounded by blacks. Given the climate you have to wonder if they took delight in torturing her because she was white. Or maybe not. In any case I hope at least he is going to get something seriously consequential.
Earnest Prole said...
Anyone who has an acquaintance with top-level gymnastics or ballet knows that "overstretching" -- in other words, the practice shown in this video -- is a standard tool to achieve flexibility. That doesn't mean it should have been used in this instance, but it's simply not as titillating or racist as your readers (or the Times') believe.
8/25/17, 2:11 PM
What a wonderful guy you are, what a humanitarian.
Look, if you tell me that you saw the video and you saw what they did to the girls, and you say that you wouldn't mind that being done to you, then I'll watch the video. Otherwise you lower yourself in my esteem with such remarks
if you tell me that you saw the video and you saw what they did to the girls, and you say that you wouldn't mind that being done to you, then I'll watch the video
Not only have I seen the video, I've seen (in person) how world-class gymnasts are trained, and this is the standard technique. Is it appropriate for little-girl cheerleaders? Probably not, since they're not aspiring to anything close to world-class excellence. Bob Dylan said it best: "I can tell you fancy, I can tell you plain: You give something up for everything you gain. Every pleasure's got an edge of pain, so pay for your ticket and don't complain."
Otherwise you lower yourself in my esteem with such remarks
Doesn't mean that much to mean that much to you.
There's more than one video. I saw videos of two black girls and I think three white girls being forced.
I remember the girls who did gymnastics in middle school talking about certain coaches who would push the girls down into the splits during stretches whether they could do them or not. I also remember the girls who made the cheerleading squad who could not do the splits would return from cheerleading camp "magically" being able to do them. I always assumed that something similar to what I saw on the video had been going on behind the scenes.
It would have been better to have a "must be able to do splits" requirement for making the team in the first place if it were really that important. Also, if you've already been fired from a job for doing forced splits, then you might think it would be best not to go there again.
I didn't watch the video, barely read the blog, and skipped all the comments.
That's the spirit!
You should see what ballerinas go through!
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