In all fairness, the details should be explained before passing judgment on the situation. But come on, can you imagine any reason you'd lawyer up for a spot on a cheerleading squad? Before you answer, read what happened and then you decide.
Normally, Yorktown High School selects 14 cheerleaders; eight varsity and six junior varsity. This year though, during tryouts in May, the cheerleading sponsor thought there would only be eight girls trying out for the varsity squad. Under the circumstances, she decided not to hold a tryout and announced that everyone would be on the varsity squad. Later on, the sponsor was informed that she had misunderstood a girl. When she made her decision to allow everyone on the squad she thought there would only be eight, but in fact, it was going to be nine. Feeling that she was the one that had messed up, the sponsor let everyone have a slot and the new varsity squad now has nine members.
Let's fast forward to the junior varsity tryouts. Ironically, it's a similar situation. Seven girls trying out for six slots, but this time the sponsor does not misunderstand anyone and declares they will hold a tryout. At this point, it's unclear how the cheerleaders were selected (independent judges or student body), but the sponsor has said she did not have a role in the selection process. She only decided whether or not there would be a tryout. Enter Wycoda Fischer, a young girl with a dream of being a cheerleader. She's been in gymnastics and dance for years, she felt confident in her ability and as luck would have it, she's the one that did not make the team. Her disappointment is devastating. Not to mention her embarrassment at being the only one out of 16 girls not to become a cheerleader.
Understandably, Wycoda's parents felt her pain and decided to get involved. They thought that if an exception could be made for the varsity squad, then surely one could be made for junior varsity. They approached the sponsor and principal, and when things didn't go their way, they hired an attorney and filed a compliant against the school district and administrators. At the grievance hearing emotions were running high, but in the end, the board voted 5-1-1 to uphold the decision. Wycoda will not be a cheerleader her freshmen year at Yorktown High School.
There you go; you have the people, the pertinent facts and the outcome as of now. That's not to say there won't be more legal action, but at this point, what do you think? Should the Fischer family just move on? Should they help Wycoda understand the concept of competition and that there are winners and losers? Or should they continue to tie-up an educational system's resources and time, and fight for what they believe is fair?