Posted on 01/10/2008 5:40:53 PM PST by Cagey
GLENDALE, Ky. -- Bobby Thorn wanted to be the only boy on his school's cheerleading squad, but that didn't happen.
The 13-year-old attends East Hardin Middle School in Glendale, but the controversial decision to cut him from the team expands beyond the district's boundaries.
Bobby's mother filed a discrimination claim with the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights two years ago, and now a settlement has been reached.
Bobby works with coach Jen Brewer at a gym called Becca's Fliptown, something he's been doing since he was about 5. He's been successful, too, winning trophies for gymnastics and cheerleading.
Bobby's phenomenal, Brewer said. You don't have this kind of kid with this kind of potential walk in your gym every day.
With his award-winning experience, Bobby tried out for the cheerleading team at East Hardin, but there was a twist: He was the only boy trying to make it.
Despite his flips, his tryout was a flop. He didn't make the team.
I was devastated, he said.
So was Bobby's mother, Melissa Barner, who said she has sworn statements from other parents stating the coach admitted cutting Bobby because she didn't want a boy on her team.
What especially bothers her is the coach was also the school's human resources counselor.
I teach my children not to discriminate and when he had it done at a school where he is supposed to be safe and protected, I had to protect my child, she said.
Barner took the case to the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights. A settlement has been reached.
In the settlement agreement, the school admits no wrongdoing but the commission has ordered mandatory training for the principal, teachers and coaches at the school.
In addition, school administrators must submit an annual report to the commission for the next three years and include any additional complaints.
The school also agreed to pay $3,000 to Bobby's mother.
It was a long process, but I knew in my heart I did the right thing for my child to tell him not to back down, Barner said.
This settlement was made in the interest of children, to keep our staff teaching children instead of participating in a lengthy trial, said Hardin County Public Schools representative Dick Thornton.
It felt great, Bobby said.
Since his disappointment in sixth grade, Bobby hasn't tried out for the cheerleading squad in seventh or eighth grade, but may do it in high school.
As for the woman who cut him from the team, she is no longer the cheerleading coach.
ping
What do you call it when real life imitates satire??
The Bravo Channel.
The male cheerleaders at my school were the toughest kids around. They would swagger down the hallway knocking their classmates to the ground shouting, “Push ‘em back, push ‘em back, push ‘em back harder”. They would ruthlessly beat other kids with their pom poms. Even the teachers gave them their lunch money. The girls would look at no one else, and it was a status symbol for them to wear their boyfriend’s megaphone on their head.
LOL!
LOL! They keep stepping in it.
Why? Why can’t he join? the girls can join boys sports and the like well...why can this young man have the same privilege?????????
I’ve heard stories about young males who attended colleges which had just converted from all-female to co-ed. The guys apparently had one heck of a great time! If I’d done that, I’d still be going to college, just one more degree to go with the other 42!
The Bravo Channel.
That explains my confusion. I haven't watched television for 7 or 8 years.
My experience is they “date” the other male cheerleaders
Where else in Middle School are you going to get your hand on a chicks rear on a daily basis and not get smacked for doing it?
Then the coach is a fool and should never have been coaching cheerleading. Having a male on the team adds an extra base for the fliers and more muscle for flips.
Does it rise to the level of a lawsuit? I don't think so, but this mother certainly did
Go tell the president you consider male cheerleaders 'wussy' See if he agrees
As for Bush, when he attended Andover it was an all-male school.
OMG...what is this? Someone on this thread has a sense of humor? ;-)
“Go tell the president you consider male cheerleaders ‘wussy’ See if he agrees...”
Bet he wasn’t a cheerleader when he was 10. Don’t want a visit from the Secret Service, but I think I can take the Pres. Don’t want to, I’m a big fan.
What? They didn’t like hairy legs?
Good point...unless you’re a female teacher.
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