Girl doesn’t make cheerleader, threatens to sue school district

Leon High cheerleading squad. Photo: Caylen Berry

Why are youth sports coaches getting so fed up with kids and parents and walking away from the job? Let Leon High School in Florida be your guide.

A senior student who didn’t make the cheerleading squad had threatened to sue. In response, the school’s principal did not say “too bad,” but is reviewing the decision. He promised a decision last night but now says it could take several weeks, the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper reports.

That’s gone over big with Caylen Berry, the cheerleading coach.

“They should not put an athlete on the team that doesn’t deserve to be on the team,” she tells KBMT TV. “A decision like this would question my integrity as a professional. It also questions the entire legitimacy of tryouts and cheerleading as a sport.”

Berry didn’t identify the girl threatening to bring in the law, but says she wasn’t the only senior to fail to make the cut, wasn’t on the team last year, and fell twice during the tumbling routine.