Texas Middle School Cheerleaders Sustain First and Second-Degree Burns After ‘Punishment’ from Coach

LUBBOCK, Texas— Thirteen cheerleaders at Evans Middle School in Lubbock, Texas, have first- and second-degree burns on their hands after complaining that their cheer instructor forced them to execute “bear crawls” and “crab walks” on a scorching outdoor track as punishment.

The eighth-grade girls, who are all on the squad’s “red” side, told EverythingLubbock.com that they were punished for performing a cheer at a football game that she did not want them to do. They stated that the coach deemed it “disrespectful.”

What happened next for the parents and children was a nightmare.

“I asked my daughter, ‘Are you okay?'” How was school? She put our belongings in the van, sat down, and asked, ‘Mom, you want to know how my day was in cheer?’ I answered, ‘Yes.’ Angel Thompson, the mother of an Evans Middle School cheerleader, claimed, “She told me that they received a punishment and showed me her hands.”

The girls were told to execute bear crawls and crab walks for a mile, but most were unable to continue after two laps owing to pain, and some became violently ill as a result. The girls stated that the punishment occurred on Wednesday afternoon, about 2 p.m. One of the parents went to the track to check the temperature that afternoon and reported that it was at least 125 degrees.

“We told her our hands were burning, and she said she didn’t care, and she made us go back down on the track,” one of the cheerleaders, who requested anonymity, claimed.

According to the parents, the coach threatened the girls’ cheerleading careers if they did not complete the punishment. Afterward, other girls went to see the school nurse, but they still claimed they had not received a call from the school regarding their daughters’ injuries. The cheerleaders suffered first and second-degree burns. At least one cheerleader was spotted in the University Medical Center burn unit.

“It was malicious.” “It was intentional,” said the mother of one of the cheerleaders, who requested anonymity.

The parents are asking for criminal charges against the teacher and say an inquiry with the police is underway.

The teacher has been placed on administrative leave pending an inquiry.

Lubbock ISD’s complete statement is available here.