Comments on: Cheerleading and the First Amendment

By: HSuper

HSuper — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:51:04 +0000

I agree with Ben 100%. Action against this student should’ve been taken much sooner than it has. I had my face wrinkled in disgust the entire time I read this article. I’ve no personal expereince in a situation remotly close to this, but I know I take a stubborn stance in everything I do. I know that in her (H.S.’) shoes, I would’ve done the same thing. If she had to stop cheering because she became suddenly sick, would she get yelled at? If she had to not cheer due to a twisted ankle, would she be kicked off the team? I feel that without a doubt, H.S. had all the right in the world to not cheer. Although, I also feel that if she would’ve known her attacker would obviously be there, maybe she could’ve taken a break from cheering for a bit? Until the case made peace? Then again, she shouldn’t be the one giving up anything. The hearless, sick monster that subjected H.S. to much torture should’ve been kicked off of his team. It may not be written, but I’m sure ‘RAPE’ is to be understood in the code of conduct– or at least it should be.

Her not cheering, did, in no way, disrupt the school. Maybe if she dropped a girl on her face, that’d cause a disruption, but I’m sure not many people even noticed her lack of cheering. And if they did, it’s raise awareness of the super-star scumbag out on the court.

H.S.’ choice to not cheer didn’t affect any other squad member, and didn’t harm the ‘activity’ in itself. The only people it really did affect would be the coach and the principals. People who for some reason assumed that a cheerless cheerleader would make them look worse than a rapist on the basketball team.

Not speaking, in my opinion, causes just as much- if not more disruption, as speaking. A ‘cold shoulder’ sort of reaction. ‘Civil Disobedience’ as Hoban said. He put it best.

And no, not cheering cannot be considered a pedagogical concern. I would say a rape case would be considered a pedagolgical concern, a rapist in the halls maybe, but cheering? You want to worry so much about cheering for a low-life b-baller, you let out a lil’ shout of your own.

Great article Mr. Costal, you’ve really got me thinking.

And Mr. Hoban- you rock.

By: mtotheaatothec

mtotheaatothec — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:37:04 +0000

This is honestly crazy. One, how could the school see the boy as fitting of playing his sport of choice but the girl not? Thats obserd to me. How could this kind of insesitivity be taken on the behalf of a school? Kobe gets accused for rape and there is an outcry, but some random kid does it in a smal town school and its not the biggest item on the schools agenda? People need to get priorities straight, the kid could have been the next coming of Lebron James but he had no right to play in a game he cherished after such a violent accusation. And if he was allowed to play the cheerleader should have the over and above the right to walk out whenever she felt uncomfortable doing what she cherished. They must be taking rape as a minor case of bullying, and not the most degrading form of crime there is.

By: gsmith

gsmith — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:45:36 +0000

I believe that kicking the girl off of the team was a drastic measure that didn’t have to be taken. Considering the situation, it was definitely reasonable for her to not cheer for the boy who wronged her so. Actions should have been taken far more quickly, because if this boy raped someone once, who says he won’t attack like a wild animal again? I feel that the coach made the wrong descision in kicking H.S. off of the team, however, I don’t feel like her rights were violated. That would be like saying the rights of a student who talked back to a teacher and got sent to the office were violated. Still, this situation isn’t right in any way.

By: keating52

keating52 — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:26:27 +0000

So your telling me a high school basketball player can rape a cheerleader, play in the playoff game, and be felt as a victim because his victim didnt cheer for him. this is pathetic by the school, the coaches, and our government. our government shouldve had this kid out of school a lot quicker than it actually happened. he was arrested for rape and still went to school with his victim! there is something wrong with America today.

By: Langsterr Oudemans

Langsterr Oudemans — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:03:41 +0000

Oh snap, does anyone see how the man’s name in the case is John Doe?!?!?! hahahahaha!
Anyway..
I believe that this girl had rights that were definitely violated, but in terms of her first ammendment rights being violated i am still a little unsure. Even though she had a peaceful, quiet protest, she may have been a slight disruption to the event, but being kicked off the team is very unfairly blown out of proportion. (Maybe they could use the fact that she was practicing her right to freely protest.) No one was mentioned to have complained, no one was mentioned loosing the basketball game becasue she didnt cheer, and no one was very disrupted except for the principal and coach. The school should have taken care of the boy in the first place, not waited until he was finished wining the school a basketball title. If the school had done the proper thing, we would have no current problem.

By: SMathis

SMathis — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:01:17 +0000

In the April 2011 edition of Seventeen magazine, H.S. (Hillaire) let her story be heard to all. Her words exactly, “When Rakheem stepped to the foul line, I was shaking. Standing in my cheerleading uniform on the sideline of my Texas high school gym, I had no problem rooting for my basketball team– but I had a big problem rooting for HIM. Three months earlier at a house party, Rakheem had attacked me and forced me to have sex with him. He was arrested two days laters and was sent to a different school temporarily. Now he was back, and my coach expected me to wave my arms in the air and chant, “2,4,6,8,10, come on Rakheem, put it in!”? No way.” The school made a domino effect of bad decisions. Letting the attacker come back to the same school as the victim was dumb mistake number one; next, it’s not like the victim refused to cheer for the whole team, it was only her attacker. She even said “During the first game Rakheem played, I crossed my arms instead of cheering when he came to the foul line. (I didn’t plan to do this ahead of time, but I was so angry that it felt right.)”. As Michelina said, no one probably even noticed she didn’t cheer except for the coach; Kicking the victim off the squad was mistake number three. Although in the South cheerleading is given a higher level of regard (football players and cheerleaders are the most popular in the school), it still shouldn’t have been taken as far as kicking her off the team for not cheering for her RAPE ATTACKER. Not only did the school give themselves a bad name; not only did the school make horrible choices; not only does the girl’s family have a good choice at winning the case if it goes to the supreme court, but the first amendment gives you the freedom to make a statement… her statement was to not say anything.
She didn’t ruin the game for anyone nor did she make a big scene about her attacker being allowed to play after raping someone; she simply sat back and chose to stay quiet and possibly even try to save the school from getting a bad name, but they managed to screw that up for themselves on their own.

By: veronicabassaner

veronicabassaner — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 01:26:58 +0000

I agree with Michelina. After reading this, I have a very different perspective of school systems. H.S. was raped, her self-worth was taken from her, and she was obviously treated unfairly and pathetically… whether it was legal for the school to do that or not. Inside a stadium full of 7,000 cheering fans, if one cheerleader out a squad of, let’s say thirty, quietly steps back and folds her arms during a cheer, I’m sure that was not even noticed, making it not a “HUGE distraction”. But, the part that disturbed me the most was that he was only expelled after the basketball season was over. Obviously, faculty and the administration knew of the rape accusations and that was most likely one of the key roles in why H.S. was so quickly reprimanded in the hallway and then kicked off the team.

Bottom line, what happened to this poor girl was just absolutely pathetic. However, whether the judge practiced strict constructionism or judicial activism would play a key role in the decision of this case. If the judge is a strict constructionist, then he would “take the emotion out” of the rape case because he believes in little judicial interpretation, and since being a cheerleader is something H.S. did voluntarily, that was her purpose for being at the game. However, even though I may be getting tangled up in empathy for H.S., I surely hope that a liberal judge hears this case for the sake of H.S.’s own well-being and for her to get justice.

By: LeslieRay

LeslieRay — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:54:11 +0000

I was horified after reading this article. I believe that H.S.was poorly mistreated, I believe that H.S’s well being was not in the school’s interest, and I believe that H.S’s dignity was ripped away from her. I think that the school district is atrocious for not discipling the rapist immediately after learning of his horrible doing. H.S. had every right to not have be passive and not to cheer for her rapist. The principle and the other administrators affliated with the situation did not have H.S.’s interest at heart, but rather had their selfish desires to advance the school’s basketball team. H.S. was just an ordinary, innocent girl who was raped and when she chose not to cheer for her rapist was punished. This discusts me.

By: MichelinaHesse

MichelinaHesse — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:17:51 +0000

I think that after reading this, I have a different perspective of school systems. H.S. was a girl not supporting her attacker, and there is nothing wrong with not cheering during one play in a basketball game. Although it is what she’s suppose to do, she was simply speaking out to the school, for herself, and for others. It’s absurd for a school to kick a girl off a team after she didn’t cheer in one play, and it was because a guy who hurt her mentally and physically was playing. I don’t even know why the kid was allowed to play on the team after he did something like that. Shouldn’t the basketball coach think it looks bad for the team and school?
I think that the cheerleader’s First Amendment rights were violated. She wasn’t disrupting the peace. She wasn’t making her team lose by not cheering for one foul shot. She was just standing up for herself, and honestly, no one probably even noticed she didn’t cheer except for her coach.

By: Alyssa Lutgen

Alyssa Lutgen — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:20:27 +0000

After reading this article I have little faith in the school system’s decisions. I found it appalling that a victim of rape could be punished for not supporting her attacker, but the raper himself was permitted to complete the basketball season before his explusion. This article, sadly, shows where some school’s priorities lie, and the lack of concern today in making a school zone a safe haven for anyone who enters. I think that if a cheerleader doesn’t want to encourage the success of a player, whether or not the reason is as simple as an argument or as complex as a rape case, she should not have such serious consequences for doing so.
I believe that H.S’s First Amendment rights were violated. H.S. did not in any way disturb the peace, distract the viewers, or harm anyone by not speaking. She simply made a statement without saying anything at all, and she shouldn’t have any consequences for doing so.