Rockstar Cheer permanently closes 🔒
Are you ready for a massive newsletter? We hope so! Grab a snack and learn about everything that has happened in the past week... it's a lot 🤯
Summary of this week:
Rockstar Cheer permanently closes
New articles about Rockstar, Varsity & the lawsuits
Podcast about Rockstar & the investigations in cheerleading coming this Tuesday
"Myths" about the new World Allstar Federation have been addressed
Team of the week applications are OPEN!
Here are the top 15 flyers in cheerleading (voted by you!)
Time to settle the score - black or white cheer shoes?
& more!
Trigger/content warning: This section contains topics like suicide and sexual misconduct. Please skip reading this if you need to.
Rockstar Cheer permanently closes
It's official - the Rockstar Cheer gym franchise is permanently closing.
As we mentioned last week, the different gym locations have been ending their agreements & licenses to use the Rockstar name.
Instead, the gyms have been going back to their old names or announced new ones. You can find a list of the previous Rockstar locations & their new names here (+ their statements and more information).
No news had been released last week regarding Rockstar's main gym in Greenville, North Carolina. It has now been announced that the gym will permanently close.
As far as we know, it's unclear what will happen to the athletes, where they will cheer, and if any of their money will be refunded.
Click on the tweet above to read the full statement!
New articles about Rockstar, Varsity & the lawsuits
Want to learn more about all these investigations & lawsuits?
Two new articles cover everything that's going on with Rockstar and the multiple lawsuits against Varsity.
Varsity Brands: Abuse Claims Add to Cheer Company’s Legal Woes – Sportico.com — www.sportico.com Lawsuits in the wake of the suicide of a cheer coach accused of child sexual abuse follow federal antitrust litigation accusing the Bain Capital subsidiary of being an illegal monopoly.
Part of the article above:
"Scott Foster was suspended by the USASF in 2018 after videos circulating on social media showed him drinking with cheerleaders below the legal age of consumption; the Greenville Rockstar gym was also put on probation. However, the lawsuit alleges that, nevertheless, Foster continued to be permitted to attend Varsity- and USASF-sanctioned competitions, during which time he was able to further his “illicit conduct.”"
Antitrust and the Fall of a Cheerleading Giant — mattstoller.substack.com The reputation and market power of cheerleading monopolist Varsity Brands is falling apart under a deluge of sexual abuse scandals. The result is both ugly and empowering.
Part of the article above:
"I traced Varsity’s market power to three basic maneuvers. The first was buying up most of the cheerleading competitions in the country, so that entering a competition meant dealing with Varsity.
The second was secretly creating and running the nonprofits that govern the sport, such as the U.S. All Star Federation, which gave Varsity the power to write rules for and organize competitions, scheduling, camps, and ancillary services like insurance.
And the third was cutting deals with gyms to block rivals. (...) The company gave gyms who bought their uniforms from Varsity preferential treatment and special rebates."
Podcast about Rockstar & the investigations in cheerleading coming this Tuesday
An independent news & media company called "FitsNews" will be doing a podcast all about the investigations & lawsuits.
Here's part of the announcement:
"In the first season of 'Cheer Incorporated', our news team will take everything we've learned in the aftermath of Scott Foster's suicide to explore not only the allegations against Rockstar Cheer, but the epidemic of sexual abuse within the cheerleading industry.
We will follow the rapidly expanding lawsuits and criminal investigations, letting our listeners hear how those entrusted with protecting our children and putting their safety and best interest first, instead used them for sexual gratification - and then covered it up to keep the profits flowing.
We will look at the impact this factory of abuse has had on the cheer industry, as well as so many child athletes and their families, and explore what needs to be done to fix it moving forward."
Watch the whole video below:
A new FITSNews podcast is launching on Tuesday! — www.facebook.com
A new FITSNews podcast is launching on Tuesday! Look for Cheer Incorporated on Apple and Spotify. Until then, here’s a sneak peek!
"Myths" about the new World Allstar Federation have been addressed
(You can learn more about the WASF here + in many of our recent newsletters!)
A few "myths" about the new World Allstar Federation have been cleared up by Les Stella, its executive director:
The World Allstar Federation
"The WASF is basically 2 months old. I am the only employee of the WASF. There are a handful of people who are volunteering their time and effort to help get the WASF up and running. We are partnered with the AAU which will include background checks and insurance. We are also working with several different athlete safety groups to make sure that we are doing everything we can to do our part in trying to stop the issues that are currently going on in this industry. I will not name these groups until we officially move forward with them."
OCS - Open Championship Series
"The WASF and the OCS are separate entities and there is no affiliation with one another."
All-Star World Championship
"The WASF and the All-Star World Championship are separate entities and there is no affiliation with one another."
Team of the week applications are OPEN!
Spread the word, our new "team of the week" section is here!
Instead of phone wallpapers, you'll now get to learn more about teams from all over the world 🌍
We'll start featuring teams as soon as we have received a few submissions.
Click here to nominate your team!
This week's...
Most popular article
The Cheerleading Level 1-7 System Explained - Skill Types & Differences — www.thecheerbuzz.com A quick guide to understanding the cheerleading level 1-7 system. See which types of skills are allowed on each level, plus video examples!
Most popular quiz/poll
The Ultimate 2020-2021 Season Quiz - How Much Do You Remember? — www.thecheerbuzz.com
See if you remember competition results, routine themes & other happenings!
New YouTube video
We asked you to vote for the best flyers in allstar cheer & here are the results! With a list of 70 final nominations and 17 000+ individual votes, these are the top 15 most voted 📊
Poll of the week: black or white cheer shoes?
29% said black
71% said white!
Follow our Instagram (@the.cheerbuzz) to vote in the next poll!
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