At last Friday’s football game, the FHC Spartans took on the FZS Bulldogs. The players came out in their helmets and pads, and the cheerleaders followed with their pom-poms and umbrellas in hand. Throughout the at there was on and off rainfall, but the cheerleaders were determined to stick it out. As the game progressed, head coach, Melissa Corey, made the decision that if the weather continued, the team would be dismissed from the game at halftime. During the second quarter of the game the rain did not subside and the girls were relieved from their cheering duties.
When the opportunity to leave presented itself, three of the cheerleaders immediately wanted to stay and support the team despite the rain. Of the three were seniors Nicole Kuhlmann, Danielle Austin, and junior Holly Ryan. Kuhlmann recalls requesting permission from Corey to stay and cheer, and Corey was fine with this and responded that the girls should “Have fun with that.”
From twitter chatter to parents’ heated debates, there has been much controversy as to the motive behind the action of these girls. Did the girls choose to continue cheering to be vindictive? To be recognized or praised? Or did they do it out of pure support? Kuhlmann chose to stay out of support for her beloved Spartans.
“We stayed because the student section was encouraging us to get back out there, and we felt obligated to, like it was our duty as cheerleaders,” said Kuhlmann.
Shortly after that night, it was brought to attention that these girls may have been in the wrong for their actions, which may be grounds for suspension according to the MHSAA spirit rules and regulations. FHC Activities Director Scott Harris met with these girls and their coaches to come to a consensus on the state of these cheerleaders.
“We discussed the events of the Friday night football game and how things could have been handled better by the cheerleaders, coaches, and games administration” said Harris.
A conclusion was reached and no suspensions, demerits, or benchings were issued out. Kuhlmann had much to say about the ruling.
“We were not suspended. We had a necessary talk with the coaches and Mr. Harris. We agreed things could have been better on both parts. There was a lot of hurt feelings, but I am very thankful we are all one team and we all still love each other.”
