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When I was in high school, a cheerleader in the class behind me fell during a stunt and broke both her elbows. It was a terrible injury, and she struggled for months just trying to live her life with two broken elbows. That was 1988...and things have gotten a lot more dangerous since then.
Cheerleading is now the most dangerous sport at the high school level, with about 60% of all serious and/or catastrophic injuries. At the college level, it accounts for 66% of all college women's athletics injuries. And cheerleading injuries are often serious and/or catastrophic, involving concussions, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and internal injuries.
Every parent has to decide whether to allow their child to participate in an activity where they could get hurt. I let Sabra be a cheerleader for a couple of reasons. One is that the coach and cheer squad are very attentive to safety concerns, and no lifts or throws are allowed that aren't set up for maximum safety. The girls themselves are very attentive to this, and if a cheerleader even hints at cutting corners, the others override her loudly.
The other reason is that if we kept our kids from doing anything where they might get hurt, they'd never do anything. We're not supposed to be teaching them not to take risks. We're supposed to be teaching them how to manage risk in their lives. We can't keep them safe; we can only keep them as safe as possible. I know people who won't let their sons play football, because it's too dangerous. I can't judge that. I can only do the best I can.
Anyway, for obvious reasons--namely my daughter and a few friends of hers that I love like daughters--I am very concerned about cheer safety, and I do all I can to manage the risk of their involvement and keep them as safe as possible. The National Cheer Safety Foundation is set up for just that sort of thing, directed mostly at middle and high school parents and coaches. They have resources for safety and emergency plans, reporting injuries, and even health and heart screenings.
If you haven't given much thought to the health and safety of these women athletes, I don't blame you--I might not have, either, if my daughter weren't a cheerleader. But these girls and women, like all athletes, put a lot on the line in order to represent their schools, communities and squads, so during National Cheer Safety Month, I hope you'll say a prayer for their safety.
