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WOW…I had no idea that the last episode of the podcast would resonate with so many of you. I am honored that it meant something to you, and that you trusted me to try and tell this story on behalf of those who came forward.
So, now what?
What do we do with all of this? In today’s episode, I’m going to give a couple of updates, go a little deeper into what we can do as cheer parents and answer some of the questions you sent me.
Remember, you can email me at hi@thecheermomblog.com, DM me on Instagram, or send me a voicemail. I would love to answer more of your questions about cheer.
Jeff Webb Statement
Jeff Webb, founder of Varsity and former president of Varsity brands, released a statement through a PR rep to independent news outlet, FITS News, denying the claims that he had been involved in, or knew about any abuse.
What has the USASF done?
The USASF has provided resources on their website, namely the Athlete Protection menu, which links to resources that include their Code of Conduct and Compliance for all members, a public list of ineligible and banned personnel (called the Unified Ineligibilty List), and a partnership with a company called Safe@Allstar, which they have had since May of 2021. Safe@AllStar provides training for parents, coaches, owners and athletes, and gives an avenue for reporting misconduct as it relates to athlete safety and protection. It appears as though their services are available to all who are interested, and they give a discount to members of the USASF.
Here’s what it boils down to: The USASF is a membership organization. They are not the police. They can only enforce so much, if anything, when it comes to privately owned and operated businesses like All Star cheer gyms.
Here’s what we can be asking our gyms
I believe that every All Star gym in the country needs to communicate about this to their families, acknowledge what happened, and restate what their policies are to keep athletes safe.
These are times when All Star cheer gyms need to not only meet the requirements for code of conduct and athlete safety but go above and beyond. Training programs like Safe@AllStar and SportsCompliance provide this training.
Lastly, I would be asking what the HR policies are for coaching staff if/when a complaint is made.
Is this the end of Varsity?
My opinion? No. At least, not through this case. There’s a much better chance of the antitrust lawsuit against them filed in 2020 to make waves in their business.
Will this affect this season?
I don’t think the allegations or lawsuit will negatively affect the current 2022-2023 cheer season. This process takes a very long time to get all the information, so if Varsity is held accountable for anything in the suit, it won’t go into effect for months, if not years.
I do hope, however, that they put more of an emphasis on athlete safety this season, and that our athletes will be affected in a positive way during the upcoming season as a result of all this.
Listen to the full episode for more, including what coaches can do to give their parents peace of mind during this sensitive time.
Now What?
I will give updates as I can and as this case unfolds. In the meantime, I have some meaningful, amazing conversations to share with you, so we are getting back to regularly scheduled programming!
SW says
The issue with safety training, policies, and protocols is that in the Rockstar Cheer case, the OWNER, the one making the policies, was the one who was abusing. Many times abuse happens through years of grooming, making the athlete feel singled out and special, and that can lead to the athlete being okay with things happening outside the rules. The things that were happening, inappropriate text messages, meeting outside the gym, partying, etc were already against the rules. It is my opinion that the culture of cheer has to change. From the athlete to the parents to the industry itself. It’s the culture that allowed this to happen and we are all to blame. We cannot continue to be a “win at all costs” culture. Every program wants to win to retain athletes. Every athlete wants to be on a winning team, or on a top team at a gym. Parents push for athletes to be on higher levels. Parents funneling in money for privates, or allowing their children to move away from them to be on a certain team. Open teams with ADULTS 18+ on the same team with minors. And people keeping quiet because the money keeps coming in with the banners on the wall. Athletes keeping quiet about abuse because they are fearful of being shunned or not believed, or that they worked hard for their position and their parents paid a lot of money. The culture needs to change, same as gymnastics did. I am a person of both worlds, gymnastics and cheer. We need change.