Coaches Fired for “Mean Girls” Behavior, Team Left Divided

At El Segundo High School, in Los Angeles, California, two cheerleading coaches have been fired for “Mean Girls” behavior. Marney Hagen and Nicole Martin have long held their positions as cheerleading coaches – Marney for eight years and Nicole for five – but after an investigation into their actions, school administrators decided there was sufficient evidence substantiating claims made by several cheerleaders and parents (including 17 witness interviews). Both coaches were fired in early December. The regular JV and varsity cheer squads, with 47 members total, will continue performing at football and basketball games with a new coach. The competitive cheer team of 20 members has been discontinued (however, there were never tryouts for the competitive squad and it was instead an “all-star crew” selected by the coaches). The complaints range from threats to playing favorites, among many other accusations, but all of them fall under the umbrella of acting like a true “mean girl.” Even worse, some of the complaints are that the coaches’ “favorite” team members have bullied “non-favorite” team members without any punishment or consequences. One parent told The Daily Breeze, “the coaches had an attitude of still being teenagers themselves. It’s “Mean Girls’ behavior that is promoted not just by the girls and the coaches, but also some of the parents of the ones in the in-crowd.” Interim high school principal Ali Rabiei wrote in a report, made public by The Daily Breeze, “each complaint generally alleges that District employees have each engaged in harassing, bullying and intimidating behavior directed toward certain student team members; and have witnessed and condoned inappropriate and harassing behavior by “favored’ student Cheer Team members toward other student Cheer Team members.” The report concluded, “it is apparent that the culture of the cheer program is hostile toward Cheer Team members deemed as “non-favored.’ The employees, whether intentionally or unintentionally, have created, or allowed to be created, an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and general unfairness.” The actions of the coaches aren’t the only controversy; the firing has divided the team. While several cheerleaders, and their parents, have reported verbal abuse and bullying, other cheerleaders (and their parents) claim those cheerleaders are being sensitive or are overreacting. However, those upset over the firing are reportedly the coaches’ “favorites.” What’s even worse is that the “favorite” cheerleaders are supporting the coaches by attacking a single teammate on social media. A parent says that this girl has been targeted as the scapegoat and is being bullied on Facebook and Twitter. Several parents shared a few incidents revealing a scary side of the coaches and team members. One parent claims that a girl was cut from the team after complaining to the coaches about being bullied by other teammates. Many times, teammates would scream at each other and, rather than intervene, the coaches would tell them to “fight it out.” We’re pretty appalled by some of these accusations. While sadly situations like this do happen, we’re glad the bullied team members and their parents took a stand and refused to be harassed. We can only hope this team can rebuild and find a new, great coach! Do you think it was fair to fire these coaches? Do you know anyone whose coach plays favorites or is a bully? Tell us what you think about this story! News Source: The Daily Breeze