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Emily Mora
Steven Hall
English 1010
December 1, 2014
Is Cheerleading a Sport?
What is a sport? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary sport is defined as a) a
source of diversion, b) a physical activity engaging in for pleasure, c) an act intended to provoke
laughter, and d) sport is important to someone, to challenge, or an individual who accepts results
cheerfully whether favorable or not. Some people are of the opinion that cheerleading isnt a
sport, while others think that it is and some may simply not care. The topic of whether
cheerleading is a sport has been argued back and forth. So we will explore the question again, is
cheerleading a sport?
In the article, Playing it Smart: Safety in Extracurricular Activities, Armenta gives the
optimistic side of cheerleading and points out that cheerleading gives a positive vibe to the
environment for freshman students at universities. But Armenta also points out the downfall of
cheerleading and claims, that cheerleading isnt like it used to be (Armenta 155). Nowadays
there are more flips, pyramids, twists, and other stunts. Some stunts can turn into drops if the
cheerleader in the air is not caught. Just like any other sport, catastrophic events can occur
causing serious injuries that can lead to permanent disabilities. The National Collegiate Athletic
Association, National Federation of State High School Associations, and American Football
Coaches Association support and are involved with the sport of cheerleading. They help
encourage cheerleaders to be safer in the activities they participate in. Armenta emboldens
cheerleaders to be precautious while participating in this sport. In order to stop these devastating
injuries Coaches need to act as supervisors as well as be trained and updated in the latest

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techniques in order to teach their students. They must be trained in first aid in case of an
accident. Also, sponsors need to properly maintain equipment to eliminate dangerous stunts.
Armenta ends with supporting the sport of cheerleading and would like to find new ways to
make it safer to participate. With these goals in mind, cheerleading will be able to progress. Just
like any other sport it would be helpful to create better techniques, which would result in a
decrease of the percentage of injuries. It seems as if Armenta agrees that cheerleading is, in fact,
a sport, but argues that cheerleaders need to be precautious while participating in the sport.
Armenta is supportive of the sport and encourages a better environment so that there is a
decrease in injuries that occur.
In the article, Cheerleading for Science a scientific leader E. O. Wilson integrates
science, the rules of ethics, and how in every generation science in cheerleading is progressing.
Wilson devotes his time to religion, ethics, arts, the social sciences, and the mind, as well as
biology. According to Wilson, consilience is the key to unity. Wilson gets his ideas from another
scientist named William who mentions that consilience provides evidence for the truth of the
hypothesis on which the prior induction is based. William states that, if one wants to pursue the
quest for the unity of knowledge there are many paths (Jamieson 91). William incorporates the
physical body. He states that, ethics is everything and is improving, even in fitness (Jamieson
91). With Jamiesons article he wrote about a scientific leader point of view name E. O. Wilson
and he didnt say very much specifically about cheerleading, but gave his knowledge about
science in general and vaguely incorporates it with fitness. Fitness can be in any sport, like
cheerleading. In order to be a cheerleader, cheerleaders have to meet the standards for the skills
that are being taught, just like any other sport.

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In the article, Playing Indian at Halftime the Controversy over American Indian
Mascots, Logos, and Nicknames in School-Related Events, Pewewardy first talks about how in
schools there are two roles called: non-Indian children and Indian children. Pewewardy
expresses his point of view by saying how cheerleading influences and encourages racism,
classism, and sexism. He strongly feels like cheerleading shouldnt be in schools or considered a
sport because cheerleading insults American Indians for using symbols such as, cheering chants,
peace pipes, eagle feathers, war bonnets and sacred dances. The exploitation of Indian mascots,
logos, and nicknames in schools is an issue of decolonization and educational equity. Many
schools dress up and imitate American Indians, and many of those schools claim they honor
American Indians and insist that the activities are not offensive. Pewewardy argues otherwise
and contends that these racist activities are forms of cultural violence in schools. Even using the
name Indian and other generic Indian names such as Braves, Warriors or Chiefs, or using tribal
names such as Seminoles, Comanches, or Apaches offend the American Indians. According to
history, schools never asked the American Indians for their permission as to whether it was
appropriate to use the names or use sacred practices in their culture for support of their school.
All of the negativity toward the American Indians starts off at a young age by being exposed to
Hollywood stereotypes and grow to unwittingly or unknowingly discriminate against American
Indians and their language. For example, schoolteachers letting children play Indians and
cowboys. School environments influence the negative stereotypes and simply dont teach the
knowledge that needs to be shared in school environments about American Indians. Pewewardy
argues that certain things need to be emphasized, the recognition of embedded racism in the
English Language is the first step. The second step is to simply be aware of the effects of racist
language in conditioning attitudes. Most importantly, educators should provide students with

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opportunities to increase their cultural awareness by exploring racism in language and also
should teach terminology that is culturally responsive and does not perpetuate negative human
values and experiences (184). Pewewardy ends by stating that, multicultural education should
help eliminate the cultural violence triggered by the use of American Indian masocts in school
related events, or to not support it at all (184). Pewewardy passionately expresses his dislike for
cheerleading; making it clear that he isnt a fan at all. Pewewardy gives a good point that its
offensive to their culture and states that the cheerleaders and schools werent being respectful
whatsoever. He gives a strong point of view that it creates racism and it needs to stop because
cheerleaders and school logos only support the racism and the American Indians feel like that
kind of environment attacks them and their culture.
Every single one of these resources had an honest point of view whether cheerleading is a
sport or not. According to those resources, the side that argued that cheerleading is not a sport,
Pewewardy, didnt give strong argument whether cheerleading isnt a sport, but did give a strong
argument that cheerleaders can be disrespectful and school logos need to be considerate of what
they are representing, which is a subject that hasnt been confronted much before this. A sport
can be arbitrary and according to the dictionary and science, there is not a definite answer to
whether cheerleading isnt a sport. There is not an adequate answer telling us whether or not
cheerleading is a sport. Just like every other considered sport, cheerleading has the same need of
those other sports such as: motivation, determination, and practice of any kind of skill in order to
advance in any suggested sport.

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Works Cited

Armenta, T. Playing it Smart: Safety in Extracurricular Activities. Clearing House. 84.

4(2011): 155-158.
Jamieson, D. Cheerleading for science. Issues in Science & Technology. 15. 1(1998): 90-91.
Pewewardy, C.D. Playing Indian at Halftime the Controversy over American Indian Mascots,
Logos, and Nicknames in School-Related Events. Clearing House. 77. 5(2004): 180184.