Organization C.Ebelein

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Grand Canyon University *

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615

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Jun 21, 2024

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Cindy Ebelein Organization Evaluation: All Star Cheerleading Nursing: Grand Canyon University LDR-615: Organizational Development and Change Dr. Shawna Wentlandt April 4, 2024

Competitive Youth Sports is currently a multibillion-dollar industry that parents are investing in. Cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports and attracts millions of athletes a year (Xu et al., 2021). Currently the industry has been burdened with multiple lawsuits regarding sexual assaults and a call to action from the one of cheerleading's largest governing bodies. The U.S. All Star Federation (USASF) is the governing body for All Star cheerleading and has made successful rapid changes to their organization admits multiple sexual abuse claims throughout the cheer industry. USASF can continue to see continued success with correct change implementation. Background Cheerleading is an activity that has been around for a long time. Competitive cheerleading, however, first really hit the stage in the 1970s (Boyce, 2015). As the years progressed so did cheerleading. In 2003 the cheer governing body USASF was founded to create safe guides for cheerleading. Previously there was not specific rules governing cheerleading and part of this is related to cheerleading not being a “sport.” Gibson (2022) discusses that President Nixon signed a law that looked to increase women in sports entitled Title IX in 1972. Title IX specially focuses on cheerleading not being a sport but rather an activity. This means that cheerleading is not a “sport” and therefore does not have to follow the same guidelines as a sport. For this reason a private governing body such as USASF was successful in establishing rules, guidelines, and certifications. Safety in Cheerleading With completive cheer pushed the limits for new skills injuries increased. By 2007, cheer injuries were still rising, and governing bodies were needed to help make cheer safer (Mueller,

2009). USASF was working with private cheer organizations to offer safety courses and certifications. Private cheer competition companies were adopting USASF rules and hiring USASF safety judges to ensure safety at events. USASF efforts were successful in bringing safety to the Cheer Industry. From 2010 to 2019 the cheer industry began to finally see a decrease in injury rates (Xu et al., 2021). Physical safety was not the only thing that USASF was concerned about, and the organization started requiring background checks for all owners and coaches that were affiliated with their organization in 2015. USASF was one of the first in the youth industry to require background checks. For example, Little League International did not require background checks of everyone until 2017. 2015 was a year before Larry Nassar was accused and ultimately convicted of all his sexual crimes related to the gymnastics industry which would change safety policies throughout youth sports. (Mountjoy, 2018). Disruptive Change Although in 2020 USASF appeared to be on top of athlete safety a large disruptive change, the documentary CHEER, appeared on Netflix. Netflix is the largest streaming video service with millions of subscribers (Wayne, 2021). The documentary came out in January of 2020 and initially shed positive light on the cheer industry. However, in September of 2020 one of the stars of CHEER was arrested on charges related to sexual abuse towards a minor ( Ex-’Cheer’ Star Jerry Harris Gets 12 Years in Prison in Child Sex Abuse Images Case , 2022). This rocked the cheerleading world as it shed light on child abuse in the industry. On the coat tails of the CHEER star being arrested other claims of sexual abuse to minors came forward and many in the industry looked to USASF for answers. USASF was then

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affiliated with Varsity Brands (A cheerleading competition company). At this time the company worked to assure the key stakeholders in the community (private cheerleading gyms) that their priority was keeping athletes safe. USASF took actions and followed up on sexual abuse claims. Change Strategies USASF worked to act by suspending or banning over 200 members of the organization related to sexual abuse claims. Another change they enacted was to start Safe Sport course given by U.S. Center for SafeSport. The program of SafeSport is to help prevent sexual abuse against minor athletics and protect their wellbeing (Gurgis et al., 2022). USASF raised their membership prices and increased specialized training. The changes implemented by USASF followed resemble Lewin’s Freeze Model of Change. Lewin’s model deals with unfreezing current practice changing and refreezing (Burnes, 2019). Because of the rapid allegations being made USASF had to act quickly to move towards the desired state of addressing concerns raised that were happening within the industry. At the time of allegations, the board of the USASF stayed intact as they responded to the crisis. Gym owners (a large key stakeholder) were upset, and some left the organization choosing to go to nonaffiliated competitions instead of associate with USASF. The board on USASF stayed committed to athlete safety and put out multiple communications to their members outlining changes they were making. USASF also introduced a third-party company to investigate abuse claims in their commitment to athletes. Key Stakeholders The key stakeholders involved included the cheerleading gyms and coaches registered under USASF. When the allegations came out many cheer gyms left not wanting to be affiliated

with them. Surrounding the sexual abuse claims multiple lawsuits were filed against Varsity Brands. Lawsuits against varsity Brands ranged from its control over USASF to sexual abuse claims. Recently a settlement came that is forcing USASF and Varsity to create division for themselves including Varsity cannot pay for benefits or salaries of USASF staff and people cannot serve on the board for Varsity and USASF at the same time (Libit, 2023). Splitting Varsity Brands and USASF has caused a huge breakdown in collaboration between the original business partners. While this change was a part of a settlement it largely affected the board on USASF and caused the staff to decrease at USASF. The board of USASF must now function independently. Success in Chage The leaders of USASF report they have been successful in creating a safer industry. While some in the cheerleading world disagree according to USASF Annual Report (2023) enrollment of athletes has increased by approximately 30,000 athletes since 2022 which is greater then the previous years increase (Stangle, 2023). This shows continued growth in the company despite setbacks in 2020. While overall the change was successful it could have been handled better. Prior to 2020 USA Today reported that there was a magnitude of previous abuse claims that went unaddressed and loopholes that allowed people to stay in the industry even after they were banned (Kwiatkowski & Nadolny, 2021). This shows previous change should have taken place. If change had been implemented sooner the relationship between Varsity and USASF may have been able to stay more intact.

The strategy that worked well for USASF in their change was creating a sense of urgency. There were multiple articles circulating about issues related to sexual abuse in the media and USASF responded by suspending over 100 people within days of negative press. They also communicated with key stakeholders to assure them they were working on a solution. A failure for the company, however, was not cutting ties with Varsity sooner. Ultimately the ties between USASF and Varsity were a costly mistake for both companies. While membership is growing within USASF, millions of dollars ultimately are being paid out forcing collaboration to stop between the two entities. Recommended Changes A large pitfall for USASF was its affiliation with Varsity and the crossover between companies. As the governing body of rules and safety, USASF should have been a separate entity auditing Varsity events and procedures rather than having board members serve on the Varsity board and USASF. Conflict of interest should have been addressed prior to lawsuits forcing the issue. Moving forward USASF needs to partner with key stakeholders to improve. The key stakeholders specifically needing to be involved are the private gym owners and coaches involved in the cheer industry. Another key stakeholder often forgotten about in the cheer industry is the parents. Parents are required to register their children as athletics and pay a membership fee. Parents often have insights into safety and specific practices at private gyms. The future for the company USASF is unknown, however, by partnering with key stakeholders and continuing positive change USASF should continue to see positive results. With more pending lawsuits the organization will need to ensure it has separated itself from

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Varsity and truly become a standalone entity. By continuing to focus on changes USASF can continue to be successful. Conclusion In conclusion USASF is a cheer organization that encountered a large disruptive change forcing changes in their business practices. Although USASF has faced multiple changes they continued to grow in the year 2023. By continuing to partner with key stakeholders USASF can see continued success.

Reference Boyce, R. (2015, November 7). Cheerleading in the context of Title IX and gendering in sport . The Sport Journal. https://thesportjournal.org/article/cheerleading-in-the-context-of-title- ix-and-gendering-in-sport/ Burnes, B. (2019). The origins of Lewin’s Three-Step Model of change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 56 (1), 32–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886319892685 Ex-’Cheer’ star Jerry Harris gets 12 years in prison in child sex abuse images case . (2022, July 7). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/ex-cheer-star- jerry-harris-gets-12-years-prison-child-sex-abuse-images-rcna36853 Gerson, J. (2022, June 16). The complicated history of cheerleading, Title IX and what it means to be a sport . The 19th. https://19thnews.org/2022/06/cheerleading-title-ix-sport- complicated-history/ Gurgis, J. J., Kerr, G., & Darnell, S. C. (2022). ‘Safe Sport is Not for Everyone’: Equity- Deserving Athletes’ perspectives of, experiences and recommendations for safe sport. Frontiers in Psychology , 13 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.832560 Kwiatkowski, M., & Nadolny, T. (2021, January 12). A sex offender tricked cheerleading officials by having a relative register her gym. Then, she got away with it again. USA TODAY . https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/01/11/cheerleading- cheer-sexual-misconduct-usasf-banned-empire-all-stars/6573468002/ Libit, D. (2023, June 21). Sportico.com. Sportico.com . https://www.sportico.com/law/news/2023/cheerleading-sex-abuse-lawsuit-varsity-bain- capital-1234726822/

Play Little League. (2020, March 4). Little League® regulations change to require completion of national Criminal Background Check . Little League. https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/national-criminal-background-check/ Mountjoy, M. (2018). ‘Only by speaking out can we create lasting change’: what can we learn from the Dr Larry Nassar tragedy? British Journal of Sports Medicine , 53 (1), 57–60. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099403 Mueller, F. O. (2009). Cheerleading injuries and safety. Journal of Athletic Training , 44 (6), 565– 566. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-44.6.565 Stangle, A. (2023). Annual Report Card . USASF. https://usasfmain.s3.amazonaws.com/About/docs/ANNUAL+REPORT+CARD+5_23.pd f Wayne, M. L. (2021). Netflix audience data, streaming industry discourse, and the emerging realities of ‘popular’ television. Media, Culture & Society , 44 (2), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211022723 Xu, A. L., Suresh, K. V., & Lee, R. (2021). Progress in Cheerleading: An Update on the Epidemiology of Cheerleading-Related Injuries Presenting to Emergency Departments in the U.S. (2010-2019) (105). Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine , 9 (10_suppl5), 2325967121S0025. https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967121s00255

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