Cheerleader who refuses to cheer guy who assaulted her loses court case

The Supreme Court this week refused to hear the case of a teenage girl who was kicked off her cheerleading team after refusing to cheer for the boy who sexually assaulted her.

As a result, she now owes the school $45,000 in legal fees.

The girl, known only as MS, accused a fellow student of raping her at a party. He plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge to avoid jail time and was allowed to return to school and the basketball team.

She continued to cheer for the team during games, but refused to shout the boy's name or clap for him when he shot free throws.

When the superintendent discovered what she was doing, she was kicked off the team. She sued the Texas school, arguing that her free speech rights had been violated, but two courts ruled that as a cheerleader she speaks for the school, not herself, and did not have the right to refuse.


The first reaction of 99% of the people who saw this story was "those bastards!". Those 99% are 100% wrong. The Supreme Court rightfully declined to hear this case because it was a slam dunk, no question whatsoever, win for the school board.

The reality is this:

- You don't have free speech when acting as an agent for somebody else. For the same reason you can't scream "FUCK YOU JIM" at the top of your lungs at work and expect to remain employed (if Jim is your boss), the job of cheerleader is to cheer. Not doing so is a failure to do the job and grounds for dismissal.

- Her winning would set an abominable precedent. If she is allowed "free speech" then everybody has to get it, right? What about a member of the KKK who refuses to cheer a black player? Is that ok? How about if Nancy just hates Jim and doesn't want to cheer for him?

Do you get my point? A ruling for this girl means that "cheerleading" is no longer a job that requires cheering but one that allows every cheerleader to decide what he or she is going to do (or not do) based on their own ethical, racial, social preferences.

You can easily envision ten cheerleaders of whom 5 are cheering, 2 are booing, 2 are sitting there giving the finger and one is doing lord knows what.

Do I think he should be kicked off the basketball team. Yes.
Do I think he faced enough consequences for his actions? I don't know. I don't have any of the facts on what happened or why probation was given vs jail or what have you.
Is what happened at all relevant to this case? No.

The only issue is this. Does a cheerleader have the right to independently decide what he/she will do when on the job and acting as a representative of the school?

Had I started this piece by saying "A white supremacist refused to cheer a black player and sued the school when removed from the team" you would undoubtedly have cheered such an action as entirely moral.

The only thing that matters is whether or she has the right to say and do what she wants while on the job. Why she refuses to cheer is irrelevant. That he is still on the team is irrelevant.

A 1st year lawyer should have told her that it was an un-winnable case from the get go. You don't have the right to say or do what you want when on the job. You never have.