SOURCE: Help the Cheerleader Who Refused To Cheer Her Rapist!
This girl was raped at the age of 16 by the star player for her high school basketball team. She reported him to the authorities. He plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor assault charge and was let go with a suspended sentence. The school made their support clear, refusing to even consider booting the athlete from the team while the matter was under investigation.
She had to deal with constant harassment from her fellow students and the community after. The administration’s way of coping with this treatment was to suggest she avoid the cafeteria and not go to Homecoming. Her rape counselor encouraged her to continue all the activities she did before the rape... to refused to act like she had done something wrong.
So she stayed on the cheerleading squad - an activity she loved. She went to the games and cheered for the entire team, but when it came time to cheer her rapist’s name individually as he shot a free throw, she simply crossed her arms and stayed silent. She was summarily, and publicly, kicked off the squad.
The girl and her parents sued school officials and the district, arguing that she was being punished for exercising her right to free expression. But the Federal Appeals court that ruled against her did not see it that way, and in a cruel twist ordered that she and her parents reimburse the district for more than $45,000 in legal fees for what they called a frivolous suit. And the Supreme Court refused to even hear the appeal of that ruling.
I don't usually get political on here or plug specific causes. But I don't want to live in a world where a convicted rapist is allowed to stay in a normal public school, having the time of his life and probably getting more money than most of us will ever see in a lifetime to go play ball for some college while the girl he raped is stuck footing the legal bills for the district that just wanted her to keep her mouth shut unless she was shouting "Go Team!"
So please... click the above link. Give a dollar. Give more if you can.
We can't change what happened but we can keep this girl and her parents for having to pay blood money for standing up for justice.
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