Coach accused of body shaming cheerleaders with awards

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Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Coach accused of body shaming cheerleaders with awards
Coach accused of body shaming cheerleaders with awards.

KENOSHA, Wisconsin -- The American Civil Liberties Union says three body shaming awards were handed out at a cheerleading banquet, and they're now threatening to sue.

Coaches at Tremper High School allegedly sexually harassed and body-shamed members of the cheerleading team as young as 14 years old.

The controversial awards at the 2018 Cheer Banquet were titled "Big Boobie Strube" for the girl with the biggest breasts, the "Big Booty Judy" for the girl with the biggest buttocks and the "String Bean" award for the skinniest girl.

The ACLU says the awards were handed out in both 2017 and 2018. Additionally, during the 2017 banquet, "a member of the cheerleading squad with brown hair received a blonde wig because she was deemed a ditzy girl."

Parents told the ACLU that the cheer coaches had previously made sexual remarks about the girls and harassed them, to the point where "students have left practice in tears, have felt shame about their bodies and have quit the squad due to comments made by the coaches."

The principal allegedly investigated and found that coaches did nothing wrong, dismissing the alleged discrimination as a joke.