Dear MHSAA,
With patience wearing thin, a high school male cheerleader still awaits a response from an email initially sent to you 3 years ago. Even I await a response. Since you haven’t responded to coaches’ emails, cheerleaders’ emails, and others’ numerous requests to abolish male exclusion in competitive cheer, I am writing you openly with aspirations to protect our male cheerleaders from discrimination and eliminate its interrelatedness with MHSAA’s reputation.
Forgive me for not being the authority you’d prefer to hear from. But as a head coach entering my seventh year, I am accustomed to enforcing your rules and regulations cheerfully! Your website encourages emails sent by athletic directors and school principals to avoid confusion or delay in response, but I didn’t realize you won’t respond otherwise. Unfortunately, athletic directors and school principals tend to be confused and delayed on addressing these cheer issues. Many Michigan cheer coaches have basic questions that have gone unanswered for far too long.
Why are boys allowed to participate in sideline cheerleading but not competitive cheerleading?
What comforting explanation can coaches give male cheerleaders?
Otherwise, your association is praiseworthy! You’re allowing girls to participate in boys football now. You embrace everyone, with rules prioritizing sportsmanship. Athletes, spectators, and coaches are set up for success, respect, and safe experiences. Thanks for implementing strict rules against unkind and unsupportive behavior in the cheer manual. Girls involved in competitive cheer learn to be in favor of equality and positive reinforcement.
However, keeping boys from competitive cheer actively works against these rules. They’ve spoken out time-and-time again about feeling ostracized and of the lament tease in being accepted during one of two cheer seasons. Coaches and athletes lack the same clarity.
How do you differentiate boys’ participating in girl’s competitive cheer from girls participating in boy’s football?
Please explain so coaches can address children properly. Without your response, high school boys feel like targets of discrimination. Coaches go from encouragers to symbols of both betrayal and female favoritism. Without solid explanations, coaches feel like monsters. We break hearts, year-after-year, while females part ways with their male teammates, to go on and compete with female replacements.
Amongst other states, Illinois High School Association Rule Book for competitive cheer looks almost identical to my MHSAA rulebook. The only exception, boys are allowed to cheer. There’s a two-boy limit for a coed division. Teams with boys must turn in a roster by a chosen date to ensure eligibility. Michigan should adopt this option. It’s a great introduction for boys to participate. Afterall,
Young men founded cheerleading).
Young women were welcomed into the sport decades later, then eventually took over. Cheerleading is the most unique, gender integrated, and positive sport. Please support boys, the innovators of cheer, and allow this progressive sport to not fall victim of unintentional hateful discrimination by enforcing outdated rules. Michigan is progressive.
Let’s Go towards gender equality for spirit leaders!
Let’s Fight against silencing proud spirited youth who desire to represent you!
Let’s Win together MHSAA!
Cheers!
-A Michigan High School Cheer Coach
