Two years ago, Patty Phommanyvong was pushed into the air as part of a cheerleading routine for Marshall High School in Los Angeles. But when she came back down, her heart stopped beating. Though paramedics revived her, Phommanyvong’s brain was deprived of oxygen for too long, and the now 19-year-old girl lives in a nursing home, unable to eat or speak. Phommanyvong is just one of many cheerleaders gravely injured during routines the last few years. Experts say that cheerleading is growing exponentially more demanding—and dangerous—with risky flips and jumps becoming commonplace in high school squads. And often these stunts are done without proper safeguards. “Right now, cheerleading is out of control,” says Dr. Frederick Mueller, director of the National Center of Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. “Kids are practicing all over the place without mats. They practice when they want to, do what they want to, and some coaches aren’t certified and don’t know what they’re doing.” (Los Angeles Times)
