The Exposé Cover Story on Varsity Cheerleading for The New York Times Magazine
The game of access in one of the most difficult photo assignments of my career.
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The New York Times Magazine is in print today with a cover story on Varsity cheerleading. Written by David Gauvey Herbert and titled “How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular,” the story is an expose of Varsity, a single company dominating the American cheer industry. Herbert compares Varsity cheerleading to a cult that cares more about squeezing as much money as they can from dedicated cheer moms while neglecting the health and safety of the young athletes. Besides trying to cover up allegations of sexual abuse, Varsity-shaped cheer has been “responsible for more catastrophic injuries to female athletes than all other high school and college sports combined.” The comprehensive article includes many damning accusations as well as interviews with former cheerleaders who were injured only to be cut from the team since they weren’t able to perform.
