Kenosha HS accused of body shaming cheerleaders

KENOSHA (CBS 58) - Tremper High School in Kenosha is accused of body shaming their cheerleading squad.

It’s something that could land them in legal trouble.

It stems from an annual awards banquet for the cheerleading squad.

At the March 2018 event, the coaches handed out several awards like “Most Improved” or “Hardest Worker,” but some of the 150 people in attendance, including parents, thought a few of the awards were inappropriate.

According to the ACLU, one award was called the “Big Boobie” award, and when the student received their award, the coach said they had “enormous boobs.”

Another was the “Big Booty Judy” award for the cheerleader with the largest buttocks.  The ACLU says the coaches told the crowd, “We love her butt.”

The ACLU says that at least 4 adults complained to the principal, but after an investigation, he didn’t see anything wrong with what happened, saying it was just joking around.

“I was very disappointed to hear that come from a principal, and ignore the reality,” said Asma Kadri-Keeler from the ACLU.

Kadri-Keeler says this isn’t the first time these types of awards have been handed out at the cheerleading banquet.

“The most troubling thing that we heard from a cheerleader on the squad was that nobody brought this forward after it happened in March 2018 as far as the girls go, because it was normal,” said Kadri-Keeler.

One of the parents brought it to the attention of the ACLU, which contacted the school.

They want the district to institute mandatory sexual harassment training, create written procedures for dealing with harassment, and discipline the people involved.

If that doesn’t happen, they are willing to take action.

“We are leaving legal options on the table, we’re not going to take off the possibility of filing a lawsuit, if we need to that’s what we’ll do,” said Kadri-Keeler.

This isn’t the first time the ACLU has dealt with the Kenosha district.  They also made contact after a dress code enforced in the district that the ACLU said was unfair, and a sexual assault curriculum, that some say appeared to blame the victims of sexual assault.

“The problem, if we’re going to define it is pervasive and persistent sexual harassment, discrimination, and impermissible sex discrimination, and a failure to address it,” said Kadri-Keeler.

The ACLU says they obtained a letter from the district’s HR department to the cheerleading coach, asking her to resign.

The coach refused, and is still coaching.

CBS 58 reached out to the Kenosha School District but has not heard back.