ACLU demands reforms after high school arouses anger with some of its cheerleading rewards

Deanna Paul, The Washington Post

published

8:56 PST, Thursday 21 February 2019

When Dip High School holds its annual Cheerleaders Banquet next month, rewards such as "Most Improved" and "Hardest Worker" seem to reappear.

Other rewards of the past face a less certain future.

The "Big Boobie" prize of 2018, for example, was awarded to the cheerleader who "accomplished a feat" by maneuvering "by routines of joy with her huge breasts", according to a video provided to the Union. American Civil Liberties involved in the case after the affected parents and a former employee of Kenosha High School in Wisconsin contacted her.

Another member won the "String Bean" award, the thinnest, and another "Big Booty".

"We love her buttocks." Everyone loves her buttocks, "said the presenter coach in the video, before the girl accepts the honors in front of 150 guests of the banquet.

And a special prize for 2017 – a blonde wig – has been awarded to a brown cheerleader nicknamed "a foolish girl".

ACLU lawyers on Tuesday sent a letter to the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD), informing them of their concerns over the tradition, which would be at least five years old.

The ACLU accused the district of allowing sexual harassment in its school system in violation of federal laws on non-discrimination and equal protection, and threatened to sue officials who did not act immediately .

"The incidents described all reveal a culture in which students are objectified and sexualized," writes the ACLU in its letter of request. "The objectifying rewards are just one example of a broader culture of bodily shame, blame for the victim and harassment throughout the KUSD."

Patti Hupp, a former head coach of the women's team, was among those who had concerns. She told the Washington Post that Tremper was "a tough culture for women and girls".

Hupp, who left the district after the 2017-2018 school year, said he endured disrespectful remarks during his four-year term and said senior school officials were aware of the discriminatory climate.

"Kenosha protects theirs," said Hupp, adding that she was shocked by the fact that there were no more complaints and that the coaches were not fired at once.

In April, a month after the 2018 banquet, a parent mentioned the congratulatory awards to Hupp but did not file a complaint for fear that his daughter would be punished and banned from the team.

Hupp decided to talk to the director, Steve Knecht.

"I do not think it's a big deal to see that this is extremely degrading for women," she wrote to Knecht in a letter dated April 2018 and obtained from the ACLU . "I think I have to tell you this for the protection of these girls."

Hupp also tried to speak directly to one of the coaches, but she responded with a strong response.

Knecht, after receiving complaints from "four different people", opened an investigation. Despite the video recordings of the banquet, Knecht said "that he could find no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the coaches" and that he thought the coaches were only "joking", according to the report of the ACLU.

Attempts to reach Knecht were redirected to a district spokesman.

According to the ACLU, the district was made aware of the allegations in April, after a parent of Tremper had met with student CEO Sue Valeri, who reportedly took over the feeling of Knecht.

On the basis of information obtained by the ACLU, a district official met with the head coach the following month and told him to write apology letters to all the cheerleaders who had received a commendable mock. The office also asked him to submit a letter of resignation.

A note from Knecht in August to Valeri and the Superintendent of Schools commemorated the meeting and included an update on the state of play: the head coach sent letters of apology but refused to resign. Knecht welcomed him as a co-trainer.

But, with the participation of the ACLU, the problem seems far from settled. The group gave the district until March 1 to respond to his requests or risk prosecution. Among his requests are faculty members involved in the banquet and administration who have failed to act, anti-harassment training for teachers and students, as well as written guidelines prohibiting officials from comment on the body or sexuality of the students.

Tanya Ruder, a spokeswoman for the school district, declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

"With regard to the Tremper incident, it is clearly expected that rewards of this nature are unacceptable and should not be awarded at Tremper's cheerleading banquets," she wrote in an email to Washington Post.

Dip followed this guideline, said Hupp: "At the moment, the only official mandate of the school is that parents are not invited to the banquet next month.