i voted yes that an emergency plan should be set and rehearsed. Im a little confused reading that document though. Ashley Burns was NOT a member of East Elite, She was a member of the North East Elite Allstars and the two gyms have no relation as far as i know. Im confused by that a bunch
I am a cheer parent of a 13 yr old. Was this Mother clueless. Yes, this is a dangerous sport so is football, hockey, ect., but you don't sue everyone who has any association to cheerleading for it. She signed a release of liability which we all have signed and looks very scary, did she not take it seriously?
Why her Daughter was doing a level 5 stunt at level 2 I don't know, but to claim that all coaches and gyms training is basically a farce and only to make money is a bunch of crap. We have these strict rules and training for our childrens safety and I am very happy with the intense training that they have to go through.
What I don't agree with is having schools try to do stunts that highly trained All-Star athletes do. They need to start from the basics and after at least a year of intense training then work their way up to more difficult stunts.
I need to know the other side of this story before I have any compassion for this Mother other than I am sorry for your loss. BUT WAKE UP AND READ YOUR CONTRACTS!!!!!
-- Edited by pumapower on Sunday 24th of May 2009 10:04:09 PM
i voted yes that an emergency plan should be set and rehearsed. Im a little confused reading that document though. Ashley Burns was NOT a member of East Elite, She was a member of the North East Elite Allstars and the two gyms have no relation as far as i know. Im confused by that a bunch
According to the document she was there with her High School team. If she was an all star that explains why she was trying a double down when she was supposedly only a level 2 cheerleader. There is more to this story than her mother is letting the court know about and will come out at trial.
-- Edited by pumapower on Sunday 24th of May 2009 09:51:39 PM
I am going to look at this from a different perspective.This mom has every right to sue in light of what took place after her daughter was hurt. Everything else may be reaching, but what took place after the injury took place was pure negligence. NONE of us know what we would do if we got the news our kid died at cheer practice. We haven't walked a day in her shoes and we don't know her pain.
That is what the court is for to determine if she is being unreasonable with her lawsuit in all the other areas. It is a bad bad situation for everyone involved, but please let's not attack this woman for her pain and grief. beacuse we have no idea what her life is like now. I can;t imagine. I would hope that I would after being involved in the industry for so long. Have a good head on my shoulders and not try to sue my gym. I can only say not ever experiencing it, NO. But when grief sits in and the loss of your child. Who knows???
Both parties, all parties have to be suffering even to date. All we can do is pray for healing and resolution.
-- Edited by Simply a cheermom on Monday 25th of May 2009 12:02:55 PM
-- Edited by Simply a cheermom on Monday 25th of May 2009 12:03:16 PM
Why is the Premier group listed on here and not anyone else seperately as it is a varsity company and should be under that umbrella, anyone have any ideas to why?
I agree that the coaches and gym should be held responsible if what the mom stated in the lawsuit is correct. However I need some clarification on how the mother can repeatly state in the lawsuit her daughter is a level 2 stunt cheerleader yet on her daughter's website she has the following statement, which I took this directly off www.ashleymarieburns.com "In the summer of 2005, Ashley made the Medford High School's cheerleading squad as a freshman. On August 9, 2005 while practicing with her team, Ashley was perfecting her double down from an arabesque, a stunt she had done correctly many times before. This time, she was unable to complete the second twist." So if her daughter had done this stunt correctly many times before than how is it that she is a level 2? My daughter is a level 3 flyer and she could not do this stunt, she is barely working on her double down from a 2 leg extension. So I also believe that there is much more to this than what is in the mother's lawsuit. I also do not agree with her listing the names of other cheerleaders that have past away without knowing all the facts. One cheerleader in particular that she has died of cardiac arrest also had a cardiac arrest and was revived 2 years earlier that was not during cheerleading. Don't get me wrong I feel bad that she lost her daughter and I do feel that what she states happened after played a major factor in her death, if it is accurate. But I do think that it will be interesting to see how it plays out in court.
I too read the entire document and noticed the other incidents that were listed.
First it is important to remember the mother did not write this, her lawyer did.
The other cases are put in there to justify their claim that cheerleading is a dangerous sport. But far as I am concerned the mother did know this and listing other cases does not support the mothers claim to lack of knowledge of the dangers of cheerleading.
Though this is a sad case and I feel for the mothers loss, there are many things in that document that will not hold up in court. But in the end she will win and have her money.
This case bring to light many of the things wrong with cheerleading. Hopefully this will be a lesson learned for many in the sport of cheerleading.
Number 176 is really getting to me. It is discussing the requirements for the USAG. East Elite is not a gymnastics facility so how is this even relevent?
In news reports they state that she was home sick for several days with stomach problems prior to practice. She died within an hour of the stunt after coming down in the prone position into her bases from a ruptured spleen. I believe she already had an enlarged spleen for several days and should've received medical attention BEFORE returning to practice and this horrible tragic accident might have been prevented.
So knowing this, should the Mother stand accused of neglecting her Daughters medical condition?
This is why our gym has a policy of anyone who misses three practices needs a medical excuse prior to returning to the gym for practice. This is a perfect example of why they require this.
Number 176 is really getting to me. It is discussing the requirements for the USAG. East Elite is not a gymnastics facility so how is this even relevent?
This is arguable because gymnastics tumbling is included in the sport of cheerleading. It is a reasonable conclusion that safety precautions for all area of the sport is followed.
This feeds into their argument that the government body USASF does not monitor its members.
