cheerleading

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Charlie Kirk Mentor Dies After Pickleball Fall
Mentor of
Charlie Kirk
Dies After
Pickleball Fall
OBITUARY
Mar 24, 2026 1:50 PM CDT

Mentor of Charlie Kirk Dies After Pickleball Fall

Cheerleading pioneer and Varsity Spirit founder Jeff Webb suffered fatal head injury at 76

(Newser) - Jeff Webb, a towering figure in competitive cheerleading and an influential mentor on the right, has died at 76 after a pickleball accident. Webb, who founded Varsity Spirit and helped turn cheerleading into a global, highly organized sport, suffered a serious head injury in a fall while playing pickleball, according...

One Company Drives Risky World of Competitive Cheer

New York Times looks at how Jeff Webb's Varsity Spirit dominates the lucrative industry

(Newser) - Cheerleading may elicit images of pompoms and ponytails, but the athleticism required to pull off stunts performed in competition these days requires more than glittery pep. As it turns out, cheering has resulted in more catastrophic injuries than any sport played by female high school and college athletes combined, writes...

Cheer Mom Accused of Deepfakes Tells Her Side
Cheer Mom in 'Deepfake'
Scandal Tells Her Side
longform
Jun 2, 2024 4:10 PM CDT

Cheer Mom in 'Deepfake' Scandal Tells Her Side

Raffaella Spone never actually faked anything, though that part of the story wasn't widely told

(Newser) - The story was so sensational, it inspired a Lifetime television movie called Deadly Cheer Mom—but what was the truth behind the sordid tabloid tales? Raffaella Spone has come forward for the first time to tell her side of the story to the Guardian , and she insists almost none of...

Netflix Reality Star Charged in Child Pornography Case

Jerry Harris of 'Cheer' is facing prison time

(Newser) - The ugly accusations about a reality TV star just got worse: Jerry Harris, a favorite on the Netflix cheerleading series Cheer, has been arrested in Illinois and charged with producing child pornography, reports the Chicago Tribune . The 21-year-old faces 15 years in prison on that one count alone. Authorities say...

Cheerleading Reality Star Under FBI Investigation

Jerry Harris of Netflix's 'Cheer' accused of soliciting minors for sex when he was 19

(Newser) - One of the stars of Netflix's Cheer is under investigation by the FBI, accused of soliciting minors for sex. Twin brothers, age 14, tell USA Today Jerry Harris sexually harassed them online and at cheer competitions starting when they were 13, and continuing for more than a year. They...

Cheerleading Coaches Are Fired After Investigation

Kentucky finds squad's events included hazing, drinking, and nudity

(Newser) - "The University of Kentucky has built the nation’s premier collegiate cheerleading program," the school's president said Monday. "But regrettably, the integrity of the program has been compromised by inappropriate behavior by some squad members on off-campus trips and by lax oversight by the program’s...

Cheer Coaches Banned From Competition Over Gag Awards

Wisconsin coaches gave out 'Big Booty,' 'Big Boobie' awards at banquet

(Newser) - The coaches of a Wisconsin cheerleading squad have been banned from a competition following complaints about a banquet that included gag awards for team members' breasts and buttocks, per the AP . The Kenosha News reports that Kenosha Unified School District's superintendent says the Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches is...

Cheerleading Coaches Give Teens 'Big Boobie,' 'Booty' Awards

Parents, ACLU not happy about Wisconsin banquet or its aftermath

(Newser) - A cheerleading banquet last March at a Kenosha, Wis., high school included some not exactly traditional—but definitely controversial—awards. The "Big Boobie" award went to a girl who, according to the coach who presented it, risked a concussion every time she ran due to her "enormous boobs....

2 Classically Trained Male Dancers Make NFL History

Quinton Peron, Napoleon Jinnies join Los Angeles Rams cheer team

(Newser) - Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies just made NFL history, CBS Los Angeles reports. They became the first men on an NFL cheer team after the Los Angeles Rams announced Wednesday they had made the squad. According to Inside Edition , Jinnies said he was "speechless" and Peron said he cried...

'Distressing' Videos Show Teen Cheerleaders Forced Into Splits

5 Denver high school, district employees placed on leave amid investigation

(Newser) - Cheerleading coaches and school administrators in a Colorado district were placed on leave and police opened an investigation amid a series of videos showing high school cheerleaders screaming in pain while being pushed into splits during practice, the AP reports. The videos show eight cheerleaders at Denver's East High...

Entire Cheer Squad Shut Down for Mysterious Reasons

One cheerleader says they've been wrongly accused of prostitution

(Newser) - An entire college cheer squad has been shut down, apparently after allegations of prostitution and more. Deadspin reports Coastal Carolina University has indefinitely suspended its entire cheer squad pending an investigation. The suspension comes just days before a cheer event—now canceled—at the university and weeks before a national...

Boy Says Cheer Skirts Led to Impure Thoughts. Then It Got Messy

Cheerleaders at Timpview High School say they were told not to wear them

(Newser) - The message from cheerleaders at Utah's Timpview High School is a less than cheerful one: "I kind of felt like it's the school almost supporting a rape culture," a cheerleader tells Fox 13 . The girls say the situation began when a male student complained to a...

Girl Cut From Cheer Squad Threatens to Sue

School district will decide whether to put her on team

(Newser) - A Florida student is threatening to sue Leon County Schools … because she was cut from her high school cheerleading team. Caylen Berry, head coach of the Leon High School cheer squad—which finished second in the state last season and will compete in Orlando's National High School Cheerleading...

The Grown Woman Who Joined a High School Cheer Team
 The Grown  
 Woman Who 
 Joined a School 
 Cheer Team 
in case you missed it
Jul 10, 2016 9:03 AM CDT

The Grown Woman Who Joined a School Cheer Team

Wendy Brown stole her daughter's identity to realize a long-lost dream

(Newser) - The Atlantic sat down with a woman who, at the age of 33, stole her daughter's identity in order to live out her fantasy of being a high-school cheerleader. Wendy Brown's story made headlines back in 2008; now she explains what she was thinking when she walked into...

University Tells Would-Be Cheerleaders How to Look

University of Washington infographic goes over like a ton of bricks

(Newser) - Newsflash: Cheerleaders should not sport ponytails. This according to a now-pulled infographic posted to Facebook by the University of Washington cheerleading team on Monday. It was ostensibly a guide for would-be Huskies, as cheerleader tryouts begin Friday. Instead, the list of Dos and Don'ts—which specified that "nude...

Why Cheerleading Photos Might Show Up a Lot Today
Guy Who Created Modern Cheerleading Is Dead
obituary
Jul 4, 2015 9:30 AM CDT

Guy Who Created Modern Cheerleading Is Dead

Lawrence Herkimer even patented pompoms

(Newser) - One of the day's most interesting obituaries is that of 89-year-old Lawrence Herkimer , who pretty much created modern cheerleading as we know it, reports the New York Times . Herkimer, known as the "grandfather of cheerleading" and "Mr. Cheerleader," actually patented pompoms—he thought they'd look...

Mom of 2, Age 40, Makes NFL Cheerleader

Kriste Lewis was inspired to try out by her kidney disease

(Newser) - Finally, a nice story about cheerleading in the NFL : Kriste Lewis is a 40-year-old mother of two who has a debilitating kidney disease that will ultimately require dialysis and a kidney transplant ... and she's also one of the newest cheerleaders for the New Orleans Saints. Her diagnosis inspired Lewis...

North Korea's New Charm Offensive: Cheerleaders

Country promises they will 'melt the frozen North-South relations'

(Newser) - If you're keeping score at home, you can ratchet your North Korean hostility-o-meter down a notch. Pyongyang has just announced that it will send a cheerleading squad along with its athletes to this year's Asian Games in South Korea for the first time since 2005, the BBC reports....

NFL Cheerleaders Have It Bad—Seriously
 NFL Cheerleaders 
 Have It Bad—Seriously 
OPINION
Apr 29, 2014 10:48 AM CDT

NFL Cheerleaders Have It Bad—Seriously

Catherine Rampell explains why

(Newser) - NFL cheerleaders have been raising quite a ruckus lately about their awful working conditions —and though maybe some of you might find "it's hard to have too much sympathy" for these "pretty, perfectly proportioned, and popular" women, we really should, writes Catherine Rampell in the Washington ...

Ex-Cheerleaders Sue Bills Over Pay, Hygiene Rules

They face 'jiggle tests,' are told 'how to wash intimate areas': Suit

(Newser) - Five former cheerleaders are taking the Buffalo Bills to court, saying they were paid less than minimum wage and subjected to disturbing physical scrutiny. The Bills "exploited the women by failing to pay them in accordance with New York State minimum wage laws," the lawsuit, which also targets...

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