California State University at Long Beach had a really good cheerleading squad. So good, in fact, that the school picked up the National Cheerleaders Association national title this year.
Except it turns out that not all of the women on the team were actually Cal State students. According to a piece by Julie Jessup at NBC Los Angeles:
The Cal State Long Beach cheer team was stripped of its national title after it was discovered that one of the competing members was not a student. The student in question graduated in December, and the university is investigating the eligibility of another member, said CSULB Communications Coordinator Christina Esparza. The university suspects the cheer team was fully aware of the violations.
The university immediately notified the NCAA and fired coach Eric Anderson, who had led Long Beach’s cheer team for 10 years and has won more than 30 national titles in his career.
Interesting, though as sporting scandals go it’s pretty low impact. Students appear curiously indifferent to the cheer team’s problems. “As long as the university isn’t for it, or didn’t try to cover anything up, it’s OK,” said student Stephen Delgatto, according to the article.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much; it’s not a real sport anyway.
