East St. Louis superintendent shuts down cheerleading program following fight
East St. Louis School District 189 Superintendent Arthur Culver has banned the East St. Louis High School cheerleading team from performing for the rest of the school year after members of the team fought with members of the Trinity Catholic High School cheerleading team.
The fight occurred on the Alton High School basketball court on Saturday and a video of the fight has been posted on social media. The two cheerleading squads were facing each other as they performed dueling routines at the center of the basketball court before the fight broke out.
A spokesman for Trinity Catholic High School could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
No criminal charges were filed in connection with the fight, according to Maj. Jeff Connor of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over Alton High School since the school is in Godfrey. Connor also said no one has reported any injuries to the department in connection with the fight.
School officials have told the sheriff’s office they would handle the discipline of the students, Connor said.
Culver said in a statement on Thursday the district will take “strong action” to maintain the safety of students.
Here is the entire statement he released:
“We expect our teams to conduct themselves in a manner that will protect the safety of athletes, officials, coaches and spectators at sporting events. We regret that our cheerleading team did not conduct themselves in a manner commensurate with these expectations. After a thorough investigation, consequences were administered which resulted in the immediate conclusion of the cheerleading season for this school year. We will not lower our expectations and will consistently take strong action when safety and sportsmanship is compromised.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy we did this story
We understand that skirmishes and fights occur with regularity at area high schools. Two things set this one apart: It happened in a very public setting and the East St. Louis and Trinity school administrations felt it was serious enough to warrant suspension of their respective cheerleading programs. The decision to use the video was made carefully. Ultimately, we feel that, because the video already has circulated widely in social media, publishing it in context with known facts about the incident is important.
In the boys basketball game on the day of the cheerleader fight, Trinity defeated East St. Louis 66-64 in a shootout hosted by Alton High School.
This is the second time Culver has canceled a team’s season because of a fight.
In 2018, he terminated the boys track team season after a fight involving spectators and several athletes during a track meet. The school board overturned the decision but then the state superintendent reinstated Culver’s ruling.
In the month before the fight at the track meet, a former East St. Louis track star Roosevelt Davis Jr. was shot to death outside a convenience store near Cahokia.
Trinity Catholic High School is located in North St. Louis County. It opened in 2003 and traces its roots to the merger of the former Mercy High School, St. Thomas Aquinas High School and Rosary High School, according to the school’s website.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
