CHEERLEADING has been around for over 100 years, yet it’s often not acknowledged as a sport, and the dedication goes unnoticed by most. Since 1898, cheerleading has been seen as hype-girls and pom poms, but there’s a whole other level to the sport. Sideline cheerleaders were the start — dancing in front of the crowd and chanting for touchdowns. As people started noticing the energy, cheerleading started to evolve.
In 1948, Lawrence Herkimer founded cheerleading as a sport, gaining the title ‘The Father of Cheerleading.’ Not too long after, in 1974, Jeff Webb founded the Varsity Spirit Association, something that started light but ended up becoming much darker than expected.
Competitive cheerleading has become a global success. International teams have found themselves at The Summit or the World Championships in Orlando, Florida, alongside teams from across the country. High school teams are competing in bigger tournaments every year as the sport becomes more popular.
This already expensive sport is now pricier because of the Varsity company. They have acquired over 175 companies in the past 20 years and required them to join a loyalty program, so these companies now rely entirely on the Varsity company. This would mean that Varsity is earning large sums of money through hidden contracts and fees.
Another requirement from Varsity was specific hotels for out-of-state competitions. Entire gyms and teams would be required to stay in certain hotels to maintain market dominance. Sometimes these hotels would require athletes to Uber or rent cars, another way Varsity earns money. They would often be sponsored brands vital to the cheer world and other sports, such as the BAND app and Gatorade. If Varsity were to go bankrupt or face some issue, these companies would also fail.
One of the most significant problems was Varsity’s failure to follow safety guidelines for large gatherings in one building. On March 1, 2025, a stampede occurred at a cheerleading competition after what was thought to be gunshots. As it turned out, the “gunshot” sound was caused by two parents arguing and accidentally knocking over poles. Many people were injured with fractures, sprains, and the worst being a broken leg.
This brought realization that the staff was never trained on how to evacuate people from a building safely, and that there was absolutely no way for staff to check for weapons because of the lack of metal detectors. Anybody could have walked into the convention center with substances or weapons, leading to extreme danger for everybody inside.
Along with safety, the Varsity Spirit brand often covered up or dismissed accusations of sexual assault from athletes, coaches, and business owners. These cases were quickly closed, silencing victims and making it so that assaulters stayed near the mats. In August and September of 2022, Rockstar Cheer owner Scott Foster was faced with lawsuits regarding the accusation of sexually assaulting and providing drugs and alcohol to athletes.
When the case was closed, Varsity had banned him from being in his own gym when athletes were present, but he was reportedly granted access to competitions where athletes were roaming. This isn’t the first case that Varsity has covered up, but it’s surely a big one.
Luckily, the Granger cheer team hasn’t been affected, but a few cheerleaders have overpaid for Varsity merch. During competitions, Varsity spirit events, and stunting safety camps, Varsity sets out tables of merchandise to draw athletes’ attention. Granger cheerleaders, along with other teams, find their way to these tables and spend insane amounts of money on things like pins, sweaters, shorts, bows, etc. A small pin could cost as much as $12. Hoodies have gone up to about $100.
The quality of these Varsity products is poor, and their thicker materials are static-y and start pilling after one wash. The shirts are cheaply made with letters and logos that easily peel off, and the bows break at the hairband and flop as they’re worn. Although it’s an issue, no money will go back to any of Granger’s cheerleaders.
In all, Varsity has done wrong in the cases that have come up over the years by dismissing them and refusing to accept the change that’s been asked of them. Even after all of this, cheer remains a popular sport because of the passion that athletes show when performing and practicing.
