Cheerleading coach fired over confronting video of ‘forced’ splits while teen screams
WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: A high school cheerleading coach has been fired are horrific vision surfaced showing him pushing cheerleaders down to do the splits while they screamed in pain.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said Ozell Williams was dismissed from his job at East High School.
"I have watched all of the videos," Boasberg said Friday.
"As a superintendent, and as a father, and as an athlete, they are deeply disturbing. What happened was wrong."
When the vision first surfaced of the girls being forced into a painful extended split position it sparked a police investigation.
The vision shows cheerleader Ally Wakefield yelling in pain as she is forced by four people into the split position.
She screams "please stop" a number of times to her coach.
There is one person holding down her front leg, one holding down her back leg and pushing her into a sitting position using her shoulders, another person holding one arm and one more holding her other arm, leaving her unable to get up.
US network 9News reports they were sent eight videos like this one showing a number of cheerleaders being forced into the splits.
The alleged incidents happened in the first week of cheer camp for East High School, in Salt Lake City, in June.
It's understood the coach was recently hired.
Parents of the students are asking why activities like this are allowed after it's believed the school administration had access to at least one video since June, with an investigation only beginning in August.
“I don’t understand why that’s allowed,” Cheri Nickolay said.
Her daughter, Anna, doesn't appear in the videos but did quit the cheer team.
“That made me sick to my stomach,” Nickolay said.
“I don’t know how you could justify that.”
Police have opened a child abuse investigation, and four other district employees have been placed on leave: the East High School principal, an assistant principal, an assistant cheer coach and a district lawyer.
