Cheer activities are a little different this year for students at Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School in San Luis Obispo.
“We’re not just, like, pom-poms and skirts and a big smile. Like, there's more to that. Like, we're actual athletes,” said Chloe Stuckey, who is a senior and member of the cheer team at Mission Prep.
Stuckey and her father, Neal Stuckey, shared a video of her doing a back flip for her cheer squad during a game. However, that is no longer allowed at Mission Prep.
“I feel bad for the younger girls cause they want to have that experience,” Chloe added. “They won't get to experience, like getting a scholarship and going to competitions and stunting like that and like having it, like, be their passion.”
The Stuckeys said the cheer team was informed on Sept. 5, 2023, that stunting was banned.
“The fact that it was allowed to go on for two and a half years and then without cause or provocation to be canceled mid-season reeks of discrimination. It reeks of harassment,” Neal said.
He adds that he had a meeting with school officials and took it a step further, writing a letter to the Diocese of Monterey which oversees Mission Prep.
“Eleven of the 24 parents signed this letter, basically giving the diocese, the archbishop and their general counsel and their superintendent some background on what stunting is,” Neal said.
The letter, sent earlier this month, includes the following: “In addition to being a source of joy, the MCP Stunt team competes in and wins competitions against other high school cheer/stunt programs. The team performs with excellence and pride for their community.”
“The closest thing to gymnastics at this school because they don't have a gymnastics program is cheer,” Neal said. “Stunting is a cousin, a sibling of that because you're using flips and tumbles and strength training.”
According to USA Cheer and data from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, among female athletes ages 12 to 18, the top sport resulting in emergency room visits in 2022 was basketball, followed by soccer. Cheerleading took the fifth spot.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research found that between 1982 and 2021 they received 1,032 reports of football-related injuries. In comparison, during the same period, there were 77 cheerleading-related injuries and 71 baseball-related injuries.
“Stunt isn't just like, ‘we throw some girl in the air and hope for the best.’ We follow our safety protocols. Like, we go through safety training,” Chloe said.
KSBY News reached out to the principal at Mission Prep High School and was referred to the Diocese of Monterey.
Deacon David Ford, the Vice-Chancellor of the Diocese of Monterey, said, “Bishop Daniel Garcia and his advisors are actively reviewing this policy.”
When KSBY News asked about possible discrimination against female athletes, Deacon Ford said, “The Diocese of Monterey opposes any discrimination against women.”
“A lot of us have kind of like lost hope, and I do feel bad for like the younger girls because I just committed to Menlo,” Chloe said. “I have a full scholarship to go there, and it was all because of like stunt. It had nothing to do with just sideline cheer.”
