Thirteen cheerleaders at Evans Middle School in Lubbock, Texas are suffering from first and second-degree burns on their hands after they said their cheer coach made them perform “bear crawls” and “crab walks” on a hot outdoor track as punishment.

The girls, who are all eighth graders and on the “red” team for the squad, told KTLA sister station KLBK/KAMC they were punished for performing a cheer at a football game that she didn’t want them to do. They said the coach found it “disrespectful.”

What came next for the parents and the kids was a nightmare.

…

The girls were told to do the bear crawls and crab walks for a mile, but most weren’t able to continue after two laps due to the pain, some even got physically sick from it. The girls said the punishment happened on Wednesday afternoon at around 2 p.m. One of the parents went to the track to check the temperature that afternoon and said it was at least 125 degrees.

“We told her our hands are burning, and she said she didn’t care, and she made us go back down on the track,” one of the cheerleaders, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

According to the parents, the coach threatened the girls’ future careers in cheer if they didn’t complete the punishment. Afterward, some girls went to see the school nurse, but still, they said they didn’t get a call from the school about their daughters’ injuries. The cheerleaders ended up with first and second-degree burns. At least one cheerleader was seen at the University Medical Center burn unit.

…

R&I – TP