Five employees at a high school in Denver are on administrative leave after videos surfaced showing several cheerleaders being forced into painful splits — sometimes as the teens repeatedly screamed, “Please stop!”
Ally Wakefield, a 13-year-old incoming freshman cheerleader at East High School, can be seen in one 24-second clip being forcefully held down by four people — three teammates and newly hired cheerleading coach Ozell Williams, KUSA reports. Police in Denver also are investigating the videos, which were sent anonymously to the station earlier this month.
“Please stop, please stop, please stop!” a pained Wakefield screams as several teammates hold her down as Williams stands behind her.
Wakefield asked Williams and her teammates to stop a total of nine times during the recording. In all, the station received a total of eight videos with “similar screams of pain” from different girls on the team. The disturbing footage has led to five school employees being placed on administrative leave: Williams, principal Andy Mendelsberg, assistant principal Lisa Porter, assistant cheerleading coach Mariah Cladis and an attorney for Denver Public Schools.
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