Thirteen cheerleaders from a Texas middle school are recovering after their coach forced them to perform “bear crawls” and “crab walks” on a sweltering outdoor track.
According to EverythingLubbock.com, the girls, who are all eighth graders at Evans Middle School in Lubbock, Texas, were being punished for performing a cheer their coach didn’t want them to at a football game. Members of the squad said their coach called their actions “disrespectful.”
Angel Thompson, a mother of one of the girls on the squad, recalled learning about the punishment after she asked her daughter how school went.
The cheerleading squad was reportedly forced to do crab walks and bear crawls for a mile, but many couldn’t continue after two laps around the track due to pain or physical illness.
“We told her our hands are burning, and she said she didn’t care, and she made us go back down on the track,” one of the cheerleaders said.
The coach, a teacher at the school who is currently on administrative leave, threatened the girls’ future in cheerleading if they didn’t complete the punishment.
“It was malicious. It was intentional,” another mother stated.
The majority of the girls visited the school nurse after practice, though none of the parents received a call about their daughters’ first and second degree burns. At least one cheerleader visited the local hospital’s burn unit for treatment.
While the cheerleading coach is on administrative leave pending an investigation, the parents want to see criminal charges brought against the coach.
Lubbock ISD issued a statement on the matter, attempting to assure parents and the student body the incident “does not reflect the standards or values of Lubbock ISD and Evans Middle School.”
“We are addressing this matter with utmost urgency, and are fully committed to investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. The teacher involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.”
“We want to express our deep concern and regret for the pain and distress this has caused the students and their families. No child should ever be subjected to harm in a learning environment, and we are fully committed to ensuring that incidents like this do not happen again.”