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Cheerleading not a sport? A Connecticut judge ruled this week that competitive cheerleading is not a sport, and that a college in the state must keep its volleyball program despite posting a 30-133 record over the past five years.
Aviator All Stars perform at BCA International Cheerleading and Dance Competition on July 7, 2012 in Telford, England. (Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)
A judge in Connecticut ruled this week that competitive cheerleading is not a sport. A court said Quinnipiac University, under an injunction, needs to keep the women’s volleyball team to give women a competitive opportunity.
The Connecticut college was sued in 2009 by a former volleyball coach and several players after the school announced it would do away with the volleyball program and replace it with competitive cheerleading. They contended that the university was not compliant with Title IX laws, which ban sex discrimination in school programs that get federal funds.
U.S. District Court Judge Stefan R. Underhill said the school could not lift the injunction, saying that cheerleading, or “acrobatics and tumbling” as it is called, and a women’s rugby team don’t offer sporting opportunities for women, reported The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“There you have it…. Go #TitleIX!” tweeted former Quinnipiac women’s volleyball coach Robin Sparks, according to the New Haven Register. “Another big win for #TitleIX. Make it 5. Proud of the stand my team & I took. Lots of good stuff in this ruling,” she also tweeted.
Sparks was fired in 2012 after she posted a 30-133 record over five seasons. Lynn Bushnell, spokeswoman with the university, told the Register that she was fired not because of the Title IX lawsuit.
She added that the school will stay committed to give more opportunities to women’s athletics.
Bushnell said that the university is “naturally disappointed with the ruling, but the university remains committed to its long standing plans to continue expanding opportunities in women’s athletics,” according to the paper.
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