{"id":12694,"date":"2017-08-26T19:38:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-26T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/08\/26\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits\/"},"modified":"2017-08-26T19:38:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-26T19:38:00","slug":"denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver High School Cheerleading Coach Fired After Videos Show &#039;Forced Splits&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:16px\">By  <a class=\"colorbox\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/08\/26\/546368547\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports\">Amy Held<\/a><\/span>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"ftpimagefix\" style=\"float:left\"><a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/08\/26\/546368547\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/08\/26\/cheerleader_wide-004676e1eadc5f5469fc235c53a7e2d60b21a476.png?s=1400\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>A Denver high school cheerleading coach was fired Friday and a police investigation is underway after cellphone videos revealed cheerleaders being pushed into splits, according to the school superintendent.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.9news.com\/news\/education\/dps-holding-press-conference-regarding-east-high-cheer-coach\/467383237\">videos show<\/a> East High School coach Ozell Williams holding onto several cheerleaders and urging them to power through as they protest and cry out in pain, their arms pinioned by teammates.<\/p>\n<p>Williams <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2017\/08\/24\/denver-east-high-school-cheerleader-splits\/\">told<\/a><em>The Denver Post<\/em> on Thursday that it has been taken out of context. &#8220;You can definitely say that what was in the video could be seen in a different light,&#8221; he said. Williams added that he could say no more at this time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I want to be very clear that this technique is a dangerous and unacceptable,&#8221; Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/east.dpsk12.org\/\">said<\/a>. &#8220;We do not permit forced split or any practice or technique that puts the physical safety or emotional well-being of any of our kids at risk.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The videos were recorded (apparently, by fellow cheerleaders) at a cheer camp in June, Boasberg said.<\/p>\n<p>On June 15, a mother complained about the videos to the school&#8217;s athletic director. A meeting was arranged between school officials, the coach and the girl&#8217;s family, Boasberg said, but no further action was taken until KUSA-TV aired the footage earlier this week.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Boasberg said that not doing more earlier was a mistake. &#8220;At that time, the decision should have been made to terminate the employment of the coach and, I believe, to report what was observed on the video to police.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The assistant cheer coach, high school principal, assistant principal and Denver Public Schools deputy general counsel have all been placed on leave.<\/p>\n<p>While training for a sport can often involve pushing oneself, discomfort and even pain, Boasberg said that is not what the videos were about. &#8220;This was way beyond that line.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Police have opened a child abuse investigation, <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/hosted2.ap.org\/COGRA\/a1210881e1db47d69e4869ba913e6100\/Article_2017-08-25-US-Cheerleading-Videos\/id-226c26909b564e82a9a1f43f4d6629a4\">reports<\/a> The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;On a personal note, as hard as it was, I have watched all of the videos,&#8221; Boasberg said. &#8220;As a superintendent, and as a father, and as an athlete, they are deeply disturbing. What happened was wrong.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/\">Let&#8217;s block ads!<\/a><\/strong> <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\">(Why?)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source:: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/08\/26\/546368547\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports\" class=\"colorbox\" title=\"Denver High School Cheerleading Coach Fired After Videos Show &#039;Forced Splits&#039;\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/08\/26\/546368547\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ftpimagefix\" style=\"float:left\"><a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/08\/26\/546368547\/denver-high-school-cheerleading-coach-fired-after-videos-show-forced-splits?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/08\/26\/cheerleader_wide-004676e1eadc5f5469fc235c53a7e2d60b21a476.png?s=1400\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>A Denver high school cheerleading coach was fired Friday and a police investigation is underway after cellphone videos revealed cheerleaders being pushed into splits, according to the school superintendent.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.9news.com\/news\/education\/dps-holding-press-conference-regarding-east-high-cheer-coach\/467383237\">videos show<\/a> East High School coach Ozell Williams holding onto several cheerleaders and urging them to power through as they protest and cry out in pain, their arms pinioned by teammates.<\/p>\n<p>Williams <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2017\/08\/24\/denver-east-high-school-cheerleader-splits\/\">told<\/a><em>The Denver Post<\/em> on Thursday that it has been taken out of context. &#8220;You can definitely say that what was in the video could be seen in a different light,&#8221; he said. Williams added that he could say no more at this time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I want to be very clear that this technique is a dangerous and unacceptable,&#8221; Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/east.dpsk12.org\/\">said<\/a>. &#8220;We do not permit forced split or any practice or technique that puts the physical safety or emotional well-being of any of our kids at risk.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The videos were recorded (apparently, by fellow cheerleaders) at a cheer camp in June, Boasberg said.<\/p>\n<p>On June 15, a mother complained about the videos to the school&#8217;s athletic director. A meeting was arranged between school officials, the coach and the girl&#8217;s family, Boasberg said, but no further action was taken until KUSA-TV aired the footage earlier this week.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Boasberg said that not doing more earlier was a mistake. &#8220;At that time, the decision should have been made to terminate the employment of the coach and, I believe, to report what was observed on the video to police.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The assistant cheer coach, high school principal, assistant principal and Denver Public Schools deputy general counsel have all been placed on leave.<\/p>\n<p>While training for a sport can often involve pushing oneself, discomfort and even pain, Boasberg said that is not what the videos were about. &#8220;This was way beyond that line.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Police have opened a child abuse investigation, <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/hosted2.ap.org\/COGRA\/a1210881e1db47d69e4869ba913e6100\/Article_2017-08-25-US-Cheerleading-Videos\/id-226c26909b564e82a9a1f43f4d6629a4\">reports<\/a> The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;On a personal note, as hard as it was, I have watched all of the videos,&#8221; Boasberg said. &#8220;As a superintendent, and as a father, and as an athlete, they are deeply disturbing. What happened was wrong.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/\">Let&#8217;s block ads!<\/a><\/strong> <a class=\"colorbox\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\">(Why?)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}