While that may be partially true, those people are only basing their judgements off of the sideline cheerleaders viewed at sporting events and not the competitive cheerleaders who are out of sight practicing for their next big competition. Jennie Yabroff, author of the article “ In Defense of Cheering” who spent a whole year following three cheer teams around, none of which fit the stereotypical cheerleading squad, discovered that competitive cheerleaders often perform bruised, broken, or bone-weary, and that they deserve to be taken seriously. Along with the entertainment aspect, many opposers also believe that cheerleading does not count as a sport when counting up male and female athletes to comply with Title IX. (Khadaroo 2) Title IX is a law that was passed in 1972 that requires equality for boys and girls in every sport program. (Khadaroo 1) But since the cheerleading world is evolving, today roughly about fifty percent of today’s competitive cheerleading teams are made up of male cheerleaders.
Some may say that cheerleading is all about cheering on the boy sports teams and short skirts, but that is not the case anymore. Competitive cheerleading is a sport, and one that requires great athletic ability and teamwork. Cheerleading is a physically demanding sport that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared and its primary purpose is to compare the skills of participants for entertainment. Hopefully, one day cheerleading will be as widely accepted as other sports such as gymnastics and