Cheerless

A two-year battle for a rape-victim’s rights ends with great disappointment this month.

In 2008, a 16-year-old high school cheerleader in Silsbee, Texas known in the media only as “H.S.” was gang raped by three basketball team members. One of the three rapists was school sports “star” Rakheem Bolton, who received a misdemeanor for the rape, served probation time and paid a fine.

H.S. continued to cheer for teams that Bolton played on, and Bolton was allowed to continue to play, despite the indictment for assault and rape. H.S. however put her foot down during a game in February 2009, when she refused to cheer specifically for Bolton and repeat the chant, “Two, four, six, eight, ten, come on, Rakheem, put it in!” 

Despite being the victim in the situation, H.S. was kicked off the team for her refusal to cheer for Bolton, as it violated her contractual obligations to the school.

H.S. then sued the school for dismissing her from the team, saying that it violated her first amendment rights.

The results were not good for H.S. or women anywhere who stand up against rape culture.

The statement from the federal court read, “As a cheerleader, H.S. served as a mouthpiece through which [the school district] could disseminate speech—namely, support for its athletic teams. This act constituted substantial interference with the work of the school because, as a cheerleader, H.S. was at the basketball game for the purpose of cheering, a position she undertook voluntarily.”

In other words, the school owned her speech as long as she was a cheerleader.

In 2010, the lawsuit was thrown out as “frivolous” by a district court in New Orleans and went on to be brought before the Supreme Court this May.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the case, which in turn meant not only that H.S. would never see justice or hear that it was wrong to be forced to cheer for her perpetrator, but also that she and her family would also have to pay $45,000 in compensation for lawyer’s fees to the school for bringing up the case.

In “The Encyclopedia of Rape,” rape culture is defined as a culture in which rape and violence toward women is considered the norm and is prevalent. A rape culture supports rape and violence by tolerating such abuse. The book goes on to say that, “excuses are often found to explain why violence against the victim is justified.”

In this case, not only were the rapists barely held accountable for their actions, but by being allowed to continue playing on the team, there was a direct message sent that what they did was at least tolerable, if not condoned.

The school’s over-arching interest in the financial benefits of athletic achievement could be one possible explanation for sending the message that cheerleaders should not only be sexually available to their the teams, but they should be prepared to cheer about it too.

If you are a cheerleader or a victim of a sex crime who does stand up for yourself, be prepared not only to be publically shamed and told that your trauma is “frivolous,” but also be prepared to pay for that trauma in cash.

It is truly troubling to hear the story of H.S. be reduced to a contract agreement between H.S. and the school by the Supreme Court and to think about what message this sends to males in high school.

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month came to an end in April, many of us had tackling the problem of rape culture on our minds. The story of H.S. is a reminder about how far away we are from being able to call our society just in regard to rape and sexual assault. ?