Colorado principal, assistant out for forced-splits video

  • A Denver East High School principal retired this week after a video surfaced last month showing young cheerleaders being forced into splits
  • The school’s athletic director also resigned following the controversy
  • The recordings were broadcast on KUSA-TV in August, showing eight cheerleaders repeatedly being pushed into splits
  • The cheerleading coach, Ozell Williams, was dismissed shortly after the videos became public

A Colorado principal retired and an athletic director resigned after videos surfaced showing a high school cheerleading coach pushing cheerleaders down into the splits.

Andy Mendelsberg, the principal at Denver East High School and Lisa Porter, the school’s athletic director, were both suspended last month after the controversial recordings went viral on the internet.

Both school officials stepped down from their positions after investigators found the pair were aware of the videos in June and Mendelsberg refused to take action on the matter after being approached by parents.

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg also on Friday released a report by a law firm that the district ordered after learning about the videos in August.  

 

A Colorado principal and athletic director both stepped down from their jobs after a controversial video went viral showing students at East High School in Denver being forced into splits as they appeared pained

The recordings were broadcast on KUSA-TV in August, showing eight cheerleaders repeatedly being pushed into splits

The recordings were broadcast on KUSA-TV in August, showing eight cheerleaders repeatedly being pushed into splits

The incident happened at a cheer camp in East High School in Denver, Colorado

The incident happened at a cheer camp in East High School in Denver, Colorado

Cheerleading coach Ozell Williams (pictured) was previously fired by East High School in Denver, Colorado after the footage released

Cheerleading coach Ozell Williams (pictured) was previously fired by East High School in Denver, Colorado after the footage released

The report said that the former cheerleading coach, Ozell Williams, ‘bullied and humiliated’ the young girls during the cheer camp practice.

Officials have said the school administrators saw at least one of the videos in the summer and met with the coach to discuss it.

Boasberg says that wasn’t enough to protect students’ safety.

The recordings were first broadcast on KUSA-TV back in August, and showed as many as eight cheerleaders repeatedly being pushed into the position.

In one video, a girl appears to cry out in pain and repeatedly asks her coach to ‘please stop.’

The coach, Ozell Williams, was dismissed shortly after the videos became public.

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