Correction The statement “HBCU culture has no place in MCPS” was not said in the conversation. The Blueprint apologizes to Mr.Feher, the community, and our readership for this inaccuracy.

Cheer battles are highly anticipated during the basketball season, especially against rival schools. As two squads face off with stunts and cheers, they are simultaneously raising school spirit and entertaining the audience.

Last week, cheerleaders engaged in a cheer battle with rival school Paint Branch High School during the 74-76 action-packed game.

“I think that the cheerleaders performed just a tad bit more excited for the Paint Branch game, but I didn’t see anything wrong with it,” junior Cesar Portillo said.

During the game, principal Dr. Art Williams told coach Andrea Short their performance was a “little too ghetto, tone it down.”

Williams later claimed that he was quoting Paint Branch’s principal when he called the team ‘ghetto,’ but the comment stirred controversy among the team. Cheerleaders and their parents were very offended.

Two days later, athletic director Dan Feher called a meeting with the team, hours before a home game against John F. Kennedy High School.

Feher, who formerly worked in Paint Branch athletics, was standing close to their principal and heard the comments about our cheerleaders during the game.

The meeting was originally about a transportation issue, but it turned into a conversation about how Feher believed the team’s style of performing needed to change.

The team was asked not to give input during the conversation and counter arguments were shut down. Feher explained that their routines did not fit his ‘new standards’ for Springbrook athletics.

The team explained that they had been cheerleading the same for years and their inspiration came from HBCU cheer teams. They made a case that their cheers were part of a culture.

Feher said that the HBCU culture had no place in MCPS. He also said that the cheers should be less rowdy and disrespectful and should be more positive.

“He took 16 aspiring young girls in a room and told them they have no voice. That their opinion doesn’t matter and that we were all replaceable,” senior captain Tyler Bragg said.

The principal saw four cheerleaders crying after the meeting and called another meeting the same day with the entire team and Feher.

Williams apologized for offending the team by using the word ‘ghetto’ and said that he should have relayed the message from Paint Branch’s principal differently.

Feher said he would discuss any concerns with parents, but would not discuss it with the team any further. He would later tell parents that he ‘went too far’ with the girls.

Overwhelmed and hurt after these two meeting, the team made the decision not to cheer at the basketball game versus Kennedy.

“I think we all felt like all our hard work as a team had been belittled and shamed within three days … it’s a big insult to our time and sacrifice for the school,” Bragg said.

Feher told the team if opposition continued they could turn in their uniforms.

The cheerleaders have decided not to cheer at the basketball game tonight against Sherwood, but have not decided whether they will cheer for future games.

Editor’s Note: Akayla Gardner is a senior at Springbrook. The following views expressed here are her own.

I have watched the cheer team for the past four years and have never felt like their cheers were disrespectful. In the spirit of competition, I have always found their cheers to be appropriate for a sporting event.

Any casual critic of our school is quick to use the word ‘ghetto.’ This criticism is usually driven by the amount of color in our population. We should never address careless comments like these. As a school, we should be above that. I am shocked that it was taken with the slightest bit of consideration.

We should be judged on our quality of education, community, and facilities. There are many things that should be improved at Springbrook, but our cheer team is not one of them.

Our school has a majority of African American students and because of this there is an undeniable presence of black culture. This culture can not be denied from being translated into cheerleading or any other aspect of student life.

Cheers from other schools are similar and in some cases identical to the ones our team uses. I see no reason to abandon standards that have been set for cheerleaders for years.

Cheerleaders are expected to be loud and promote school spirit. Is there any harm in doing so while involving another team?

It may seem different than other sports teams, but cheer battles are essentially the same as any other competition on a field or court. The cheer team deserves the freedom to practice under the supervision of a coach just like all the other athletic teams.

The student voice should never be suppressed. The cheer team’s voice deserves to be heard.
Cheerleaders support all teams here at Springbrook and I encourage others to support them against irrational criticisms of their performances.