Call in the riot police

Commentary

By Ed Backlund | The Warrior Report

I was just levied my first Warrior Report assignment – to shed some light on my personal views regarding the STAC Cheerleading decision. (“What’s the problem that needs to be fixed?”)

My initial reaction to the Office of Civil Rights’s decision was one of surprise. “If it was working fine before, why did they have to change it? Why does one mother get to tell hundreds of cheerleaders when and for whom they can cheer?” But once I got past my initial reaction, I realized that perhaps both sides [the no-longer anonymous mother (Rosie Pudish) vs. almost everyone else] had valid points. Wasn’t it a similar idea to desegregate schools in the 60s?

Neither “team” wanted to be with the other, but high-ranking public officials told them what was good for them, pulled in the National Guard, and 40-some years later, some of these deep-seated ill-wills still stand between whites and blacks. Now, I am not saying that any riots have occurred over Title IX, nor that it is totally acceptable for Title IX to be ignored fully, but I digress.

What I am here to say is that cheerleaders should be allowed – but not forced – to do whatever they were doing before the Title IX decision. My guess is that all STAC schools would go back to only cheering on boys’ games. This would make much more sense considering the inevitable length of the appeal process.

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