19, 2020, both men were removed from USA Cheer’s public list of ineligible coaches, the lawsuit states. 23, 2020, Zoom call with an authorized USASF representative. USASF suspended the two accused employees while a third-party investigation was underway, according to the lawsuit, which adds that the minor provided details of their encounter Sept. Ohio law enforcement did not seek charges because the plaintiff was over 16 - the state’s age of consent - at the time, according to the lawsuit. All Star Federation case manager touched base, the plaintiff made a formal report and subsequently cooperated with Ohio law enforcement officials, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiff says he sent details of the encounter in an anonymous email to two gyms in California and North Carolina in June 2020. The gym called a meeting with the boy to discuss any potential inappropriate conduct but took no action, according to the lawsuit. It says the cheerleader refused their invitations to drink alcohol, and that the men, then 24 and 25, had sex multiple times with the teen despite his attempts to leave. In the latest case, two men who were contracted to provide training at an Ohio gym invited a 17-year-old male cheerleader to their hotel room after midnight in late July 2016, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuits paint a sordid picture of a sporting scene in which coaches use their power to share drugs and initiate sex with underage athletes while a network of institutions provides weak or nonexistent oversight.
The parent company Varsity Brands - which also faces separate antitrust lawsuits - has denied any culpability while expressing support for the cheerleaders alleging abuse. After the allegations surfaced at South Carolina’s Rockstar Cheer, 10 gyms across the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New Jersey stated that they would drop the Rockstar name and branding. The scandal has embroiled the cheerleading world as the competitive season gets underway. The latest lawsuit brings the number of accusers to 20.
Snowballing accounts of cheerleaders’ alleged abuse have led to increased scrutiny around the sport since the founder of an elite South Carolina cheerleading gym formerly branded as “Rockstar Cheer” reportedly killed himself in late August amid an investigation into abuse.
ROCKSTAR CHEER 2018 SERIES
(AP) - The latest lawsuit in a series alleging widespread sexual misconduct across competitive cheerleading alleges that officials allowed two choreographers to continue working after they were investigated for sexual abuse.
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