What's appropriate in cheerleading

After the national cheerleading championships in San Antonio in January, administrators at the American Cheerleaders Association gathered to review their event.

In addition to marveling at the athleticism and spirit of the 4,000 students, much of the talk revolved around the increasingly sexual nature of their moves. In fact, the cheerleading organization considered sending a notice to next year's participants: Tone it down.

Now the state of Texas is sending that message for them.

Last week, the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that would prohibit "sexually suggestive" cheerleading and drill-team routines in public schools. The bill has garnered plenty of national attention, but likely won't become law in Texas because it has no sponsor in the Senate.

Still, that fact has not put an end to the debate about what is considered lewd or provocative behavior and who is responsible for monitoring it. Few people have missed the irony that the state of Texas, which shocked America when its Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders shed their pompoms for go-go boots and short shorts more than 30 years ago, is now trying to legislate morality on the sidelines.

But as cheerleading continues to gain in popularity across the country, and especially in Texas, some want to make sure it doesn't go the way of Britney Spears and MTV.

"We are telling teenagers not to have sex, but are teaching them how to do it on the football field and applauding them when they do it," says Rep. Al Edwards of Houston, who sponsored the bill.

He says that over the years, he has watched cheerleading routines get racier and uniforms get tinier - a "distracting" trend that in his view encourages teen pregnancy, boosts dropout rates, and increases the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

"We've got to clean it up," says the Democratic representative who, in past sessions, has battled raunchy song lyrics and advocated cutting off the fingers of drug dealers. "We teach children math, history, chemistry, science. Surely, we can teach them how to perform in appropriate ways and not be exploited."

How to enforce the legislation, should it become law, is causing angst in school districts statewide. Under the bill, the Texas Education Agency would be responsible for determining what is sexually suggestive and forcing schools to take "appropriate action" to stop it. Stripped from the bill was a provision that would have cut funding to any school that did not take appropriate action to stop it.

"The legislation does not have any specificity to it," says Keith Kilgore, athletic director for the Fort Bend Independent School District, just west of Houston. "I was surprised that it got as many votes as it did - not that I don't share their concerns. I just fail to see who is going to identify what is and what is not acceptable behavior. And if there are consequences, who is going to administer those consequences."

Mr. Kilgore says when the bill was first introduced, the district's eight high schools were right in the middle of cheerleading tryouts, so he gathered together coaches, judges, and other school officials to discuss the issue. He says everyone was at a loss as to what to say because no parent or spectator had ever raised the issue before. The school district has never received a single phone call to that effect, says Kilgore.

Page: 1 | 2