Monday, September 20, 2010



Prudish parents hurt their daughter

They wanted a whole team of cheerleaders to conform to their ideas of proper speech but the team solved the matter by booting their daughter off the team
"A Michigan couple is crying unsportsmanlike conduct after their 6-year-old daughter was removed from a flag football cheerleading team because they complained that one of the team's chants was too risqué.

Jennifer and Duane Tesch, of Madison Heights, say their daughter, Kennedy, was unanimously voted off of the Madison Heights Wolverines flag football cheerleading team during a team meeting Tuesday night. The meeting was held to discuss concerns the Tesches voiced last month regarding one of the team's cheers:

"Our backs ache, our skirts are too tight, we shake our booties from left to right."

But instead of seeing their concerns with the cheer resolved, the Tesches saw their little girl booted from the team. "I don't even have the words," Jennifer Tesch told FoxNews.com. "I can't believe their solution to this was to remove my daughter from the team. She's going to be devastated. She's going to be crying."

Source

It's in the nature of cheerleading for it to be a bit sexy. That may well be inappropriate for 6-year-olds but people are entitled to their own opinion about that -- and parents who don't like it should simply opt out instead of trying to dictate to everyone else.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

That isn't a cheer. Why can't parents and kids have an expectation that an activity will be age appropriate? And why should they have to 'shut up and go away' when that isn't the case? What is the 2nd verse of this 'cheer'? "My hump is plump - my pimp is tight - I shake my bootie from left to right"? This isn't about free speech so much as it is about a certain group of adults having complete lack of what is age-appropriate.

Anonymous said...

I usually agree with you, but in this case the team should have addressed the concern with everyone involved. At that point if everyone wanted to leave the cheer in, it would be up to the parents to either tolerate the cheer of remove their daughter.

Anonymous said...

The team was right to boot out a non-conformist.

Bobby said...

Being a cheerleader is not a right, it is a privilege, ask any head cheerleader if her position was simply appointed. Just like the drama club, you have to audition for the part, and earn your promotions. So this has nothing to do with free speech. I'm sorry for the 6 year old getting her feeling hurt, but that's what sucks about being part of a team, you have no freedom, your have to follow rules, and if at any point they decide you are the weakest link, it's over for you.

Anonymous said...

Where else are the pedos going to get their fix if they don't have the parents to sexualize preteens?

Anonymous said...

"Where else are the pedos going to get their fix if they don't have the parents to sexualize preteens?"

They will join the priesthood.

Anonymous said...

Being a cheerleader is not a right, it is a privilege, ask any head cheerleader if her position was simply appointed.

No one said it was a natural right. The parents paid their money and have a contractual right to expect that the cheerleader's group provide their child the experience for which they paid.

your have to follow rules,

What rules were broken in this case, Bobby?

Please tell us all how a parent asking a question in an appropriate forum is breaking a rule.

you have no freedom,

Bull. You don't know what you are talking about and more specifically, you don't know what you are talking about in this case.

and if at any point they decide you are the weakest link, it's over for you.

Once again, you are showing your ignorance. This is a youth league where, as long as the kid is eligible by age and is certified by a doctor they can do the activity, they are required by the league charter to be on a squad.

If the child is a problem (in this case they were not) or if the parent is a problem (in this case they were not) there is a hearing head by the Board of Directors of the LEAGUE, not the local team.

That didn't happen here.

Once again, you don't think this is an issue because you agree with some 6 year old acting like a sex pot.

Anonymous said...

This cheer basically teaches these kids that their worth depends on shaking their booties or their sexuality as it is sent down from the all knowing all seeing patriarchy. These unhealthy messages (of which young girls are especially vulnerable to) are a disease and I applaud the parents who are fighting it.

Anonymous said...

Why aren't the girls engaged in a sport instead of a dubious activity like cheerleading. It is totally inappropriate for kids that age since it obviously promotes the wrong values for young girls.

Anonymous said...

I know someone who bought a home in an established neighborhood which happens to be near a major airport. Two months after moving in, they filed a lawsuit complaining about the noise and attempted to force the airport to change their runways.

It ws a nice try but they lost, as the parents of this child should lose. No child has a "right" to be a cheerleader, no matter how much the parents pay. And BTW, the tuition is for an education, not to be a cheerleader. One should understand what the circumstances are "before" engaging in an activity, not after!

Anonymous said...

Next thing you know the kid will be wearing a "nose ring" and claiming it's her right because her "religion" demands it.

jwenting said...

"I usually agree with you, but in this case the team should have addressed the concern with everyone involved"

The team did indeed solve the problem with everyone involved.
It solved the problem by deciding they could do without that family rather than bowing to them, which solved the problem quite nicely.
Now the team doesn't have to deal with that family, and the family doesn't have to listen to their kid saying things they don't like.

"I know someone who bought a home in an established neighborhood which happens to be near a major airport. Two months after moving in, they filed a lawsuit complaining about the noise and attempted to force the airport to change their runways. "

Common practice around airports, employed by enviroweenies and busybodies everywhere.
Should be a law that you can't complain about an airport unless you were living there when it was first constructed.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Americans have a different set of values for raising their children but doesn't anyone think that teaching 6yo girls to bump and grind is over the top?

Anonymous said...

No child has a "right" to be a cheerleader, no matter how much the parents pay.

A parent has the right to expect that a contract will be fulfilled. The daughter was accepted onto the team, the parents paid their money, the league then violated their own rules by kicking the kid off the team.

And BTW, the tuition is for an education, not to be a cheerleader.

The $125 is not for tuition. It is a fee.

One should understand what the circumstances are "before" engaging in an activity, not after!

And one should understand the facts before commenting, not after.

Bobby said...

"Once again, you are showing your ignorance. This is a youth league where, as long as the kid is eligible by age and is certified by a doctor they can do the activity, they are required by the league charter to be on a squad."

---So when the drama club tells a kid he can't play the lead role because he's too fat, should his parents sue? Or what about basketball players who are forced to sit for the game because the coach has a beef with them or they're simply not good enough? As much as I like to root for the underdog, that's not how life works.

Cheerleading is a mafia, it has always been a mafia. It's not about fairness, it's about looks and compliance. You cannot have an entire club change to adapt to one individual.

"Once again, you don't think this is an issue because you agree with some 6 year old acting like a sex pot."

---I do not, in fact, I think expelling her is a good idea to prevent her from acting like a sex pot.

"A parent has the right to expect that a contract will be fulfilled. The daughter was accepted onto the team, the parents paid their money, the league then violated their own rules by kicking the kid off the team."

---If the parents want to sue and get their money back, maybe they can, maybe not.

Anonymous said...

You got this one wrong. The parents brought up an issue in an appropriate format. If the majority disagreed, they could have simply voted to retain the cheer and the parents could have decided whether or not to accept the decision. Instead, they punished the parents (and the child) for having a difference of opinion. Unfortunately, there is insufficient information here. We don't know how the parents (on both sides) behaved. However it appears that the one that opened their mouth got punished.

Anonymous said...

---So when the drama club tells a kid he can't play the lead role because he's too fat, should his parents sue?

What about them? This is a youth league whose bylaws state that if the kid pays and is physically, they participate. If they want to suspend a kid, there are ways of doing it. Voting the kid off the team is not one of them.

Cheerleading is a mafia, it has always been a mafia. It's not about fairness, it's about looks and compliance. You cannot have an entire club change to adapt to one individual.

So now you think that they should suspend a 6 year old because of her looks? What kind of idiot are you? Once again, this is a YOUTH LEAGUE. They have rules on participation and discipline, which were followed in this case.

---I do not, in fact, I think expelling her is a good idea to prevent her from acting like a sex pot.

This is classic double speak from you. You want the kid kicked off the team in violation of the league rules. You want the kid to be able to be kicked off because a 6 year old isn't "good enough looking" for you. And then you try to bring out "it is for the kid" meme.

---If the parents want to sue and get their money back, maybe they can, maybe not.

You have to be one of the most ignorant people on the face of the earth. Really. Did you even read the story? Nah. That would take up too much time from your hectic schedule of hiring hookers.

Bobby said...

"This is classic double speak from you. You want the kid kicked off the team in violation of the league rules. You want the kid to be able to be kicked off because a 6 year old isn't "good enough looking" for you. And then you try to bring out "it is for the kid" meme."

---Let me write clearly so you don't make things up about what I want. 1. I want the team to be free to choose their members. That's it, that's all I want.

I really don't see what's the big deal, getting excluded from things is part of life. Tell me, where you home-schooled? Do you not have any experience with high school cliques?

I feel sorry for the girl, but guess what? Maybe this experience will help her grow stronger. Perhaps she can find another hobby, like playing the violin or taking volleyball or something else.

Anonymous said...

---Let me write clearly so you don't make things up about what I want. 1. I want the team to be free to choose their members. That's it, that's all I want.

Then clearly you don't have a clue about THIS story. It is a youth league. It is a league whose bylaws require participation if the kid pays their money and has a doctor's release.

In other words, you want what the league doesn't want.

Your comments continue to demonstrate your ignorance on this topic.

I really don't see what's the big deal, getting excluded from things is part of life.

The big deal is that the kid was accepted, and then the cheerleading group decided to make a new interpretation of the league rules that excluded a kid based on someone saying that the cheer is inappropriate.

Clearly you side with the people that voted to ban this little girl because you want to see 6 year olds out there shaking around like the hookers you hire.

I feel sorry for the girl, but guess what? Maybe this experience will help her grow stronger.

Yeah. Right. So where is your sense of "freedom of speech" now, Bobby? The parents spoke up in the appropriate time and place and the other adults took it out on a 6 year old.

From your reaction you think that is fair and just.

It isn't.

Bobby said...

"In other words, you want what the league doesn't want."

---So counselor, are you saying groups that are part of the league always follow the league rules? Do they always consult the league before expelling a member? Was it illegal for them to vote a member out?

Now I don't know what the league wants, but I do know that in the world there is the law and there is reality, and sometimes reality doesn't match with the law.

"The big deal is that the kid was accepted, and then the cheerleading group decided to make a new interpretation of the league rules that excluded a kid based on someone saying that the cheer is inappropriate."

---Yeah well, I've been accepted into groups before and thrown out after they decided I wasn't good enough for them. Of course, my groups had no leagues so maybe my personal experiences don't apply.


"Clearly you side with the people that voted to ban this little girl because you want to see 6 year olds out there shaking around like the hookers you hire."

---No sir, personally I think is shameful that cheerleaders act like strippers, but I also know that people do what people want, as long as a majority agrees and its legal. Women love attention, specially cheerleaders, so I can understand why they do what they do. 6 year olds have no business being in that environment, I think we can both agree on that.


"Yeah. Right. So where is your sense of "freedom of speech" now, Bobby? The parents spoke up in the appropriate time and place and the other adults took it out on a 6 year old."

---Freedom of speech was exercised by one group and freedom of association was exercised by the other group. Parents have the right to speak, they don't have the right to force an entire team to change their cheers for a six year old.

Anonymous said...

---So counselor, are you saying groups that are part of the league always follow the league rules? Do they always consult the league before expelling a member? Was it illegal for them to vote a member out?

It is required for them to consult the league before removing a child from the program. They did not.

---Yeah well, I've been accepted into groups before and thrown out after they decided I wasn't good enough for them.

Well, I can understand their decision.

Of course, my groups had no leagues so maybe my personal experiences don't apply.

Which of course made you an "expert" to argue that the the team was correct in kicking the 6 year old out, right?

but I also know that people do what people want, as long as a majority agrees and its legal.

Open mouth. Insert foot.

6 year olds have no business being in that environment, I think we can both agree on that.

Not at all. I have seen lots of young cheerleading squads where the kids are having fun, they cheer, tumble, and have a great time. There is nothing wrong with that.

---Freedom of speech was exercised by one group and freedom of association was exercised by the other group.

No, freedom of association was not exercised by one group. You have no clue as to what you are talking about and what the term means.

Parents have the right to speak, they don't have the right to force an entire team to change their cheers for a six year old.

Do you ever read anything before opening your mouth? Apparently not as you keep saying things about this situation that are simply not true.

Most groups don't like people that are dishonest. No wonder you got kicked out of a lot of associations.

Anonymous said...

Wow. any sane group of people would have just decided to not allow these types of cheers from now on and go about their business.

To kick the 6 year old off the team is missing the point entirely. You kick kids off a team if they beat up another kid or something as serious.

My opinion is that some of the parents saw a convenient way to get rid of their daughters competition...