email ACLU Investigating If Black Cheerleader Claiming She Was Kicked Off Squad Because Of Her Hair Has Legal Case
School officials say Talyn Jefferson’s hair had nothing to do with their decision to remove her from the team.
Published February 2nd
Written by Paul Meara
A Black college student says she was kicked off her school’s cheerleading squad because of her choice in hairstyles. Now, the ACLU is investigating to determine whether or not the school violated her civil rights.
Talyn Jefferson joined the Ottawa University cheer team during her freshman year and told
Yahoo Life that her passion for cheerleading stems from her background in gymnastics, which she has practiced since middle school.
Associated Press
OTTAWA (AP) A white woman has resigned as the head cheer coach at a private Kansas university after a Black cheerleader said she was kicked off the squad over an argument about her nearly 3-foot-long braids.
The Kansas City Star reports that Casey Jamerson, said in a statement that continuing to coach at Ottawa University, which is about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, would likely be “a distraction” for the team, staff and community.
Talyn Jefferson, 20, previously told The Star she refused to remove a hair bonnet earlier this month during cheerleading practice because she worried her long braids could hit a teammate in the face. A junior from Lawrence, she said she was kicked out of practice and off the squad.
Coach Accused of Criticizing Black Cheerleader s Braids Resigns
By
A cheerleading coach at Ottawa University, a Christian institution with a campus in Kansas, resigned after being accused of making racist statements about a Black cheerleader’s hair,
The Kansas City Star reported.
The cheerleader, Talyn Jefferson, said she refused to remove a hair bonnet during practice because she worried her long braids would hit a teammate in the face. She said she was kicked out of practice and off the team. A tweet posted by a friend of Jefferson’s says she was told her braids “are a hindrance to my performance and they are not collegiate and I never should have gotten them in the first place.”
The Associated Press
OTTAWA A white woman has resigned as the head cheer coach at a private Kansas university after a Black cheerleader said she was kicked off the squad over an argument about her nearly 3-foot-long braids.
The Kansas City Star reports that Casey Jamerson said in a statement that her continuing to coach at Ottawa University, at Ottawa in Franklin County, would likely be “a distraction” for the team, staff and community.
Talyn Jefferson, 20, previously told The Star she refused to remove a hair bonnet in early January during cheerleading practice because she worried her long braids could hit a teammate in the face. A junior from Lawrence, she said she was kicked out of practice and off the squad.
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