Former UC Berkeley cheerleader says coaches ignored concussions in lawsuit
A former collegiate cheerleader who suffered multiple brain injuries while on the cheer squad at the University of California, Berkeley, has filed a lawsuit against the school, the sport’s national governing body and her former coaches for failing to implement concussion protocols, endangering her health and ultimately forcing her withdrawal from the university, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Alameda county superior court.
Melissa Martin, who was a member of UC Berkeley’s cheerleading and stunt teams from April 2017 through February 2018, says her coaches bullied her into performing stunts even after she sustained her first serious concussion and that the school failed to take reasonable measures to prevent further injuries, court documents said. The suit alleges the defendants were negligent and violated California’s student athlete bill of rights and unfair competition law.
The complaint, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, claims Martin’s concerns over her injuries and increasingly severe symptoms were “met with indifference and even disdain” by head coach Lisa Keys and assistant coach Jessica Chatto, who first dissuaded her from seeing a physician when she incurred a head injury during an October 2017 practice and then demanded she perform against doctor’s orders after she was diagnosed with a concussion, according to the suit.
Martin went on to suffer three concussions in a four-month span, leading to potentially permanent brain injuries, the enlistment of ongoing medical care, forced academic leave from school and lost tuition, the complaint says.
The lawsuit throws a harsh light on the less familiar terrain of head injuries in cheerleading, which has not drawn the same degree of concern and media attention as the well-documented concussion epidemic that’s upturned American football. Competitive cheer, despite a low overall injury rate, results in the largest number of major injuries among women and girls of any sport, according to a 2012 report and policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“While there has been a lot of attention around concussion risks for young men in football, there has not been a corresponding level of concern about head injuries for young women participating in cheerleading programs,” Martin’s attorney, Jennie Lee Anderson, told the Guardian. “The University of California should be leading the charge in concussion prevention, but instead, Martin’s coaches forced her to cheer when she was still recovering from a brain injury and the university did nothing about it.”
The complaint says Martin suffered her first head injury when she was kicked in the head during a practice in the presence of Chatto, who did not perform any kind of evaluation for signs of a concussion. After she developed severe headaches, vision problems and light sensitivity in the days that followed, Martin said Keys instructed her to not go to the campus doctor and pressured her to attend and cheer at the upcoming game, according to the suit.
A pattern of negligence and intimidation from her coaches ensued over the following months as Martin was called upon to stunt in practices and at events despite not being medically cleared and symptom-free, the suit alleges. After suffering a third head injury while warming up before a basketball game, Martin resigned from the cheer and stunt teams in February 2018.
The suit says Martin, who attempted to enroll in school again in fall 2018 but was forced to take a medical leave of absence due to her symptoms, has “endured months of therapy, and continues to experience headaches, nausea, confusion and light sensitivity” and “suffers from depression and anxiety over her inability to return to her normal life”.
In addition to compensatory and punitive damages, Martin is seeking a permanent injunction demanding UC Berkeley and USA Cheer implement reasonable concussion protocols for collegiate cheerleaders.
A university spokesman when reached for comment on Wednesday told the Guardian they had yet to have an opportunity to review the lawsuit and could not discuss specific individual cases due to privacy rights, but issued the following statement:
“Cal Athletics closely follows the dictates of a comprehensive policy on concussion management. This policy includes essential elements of concussion education and protocols for management of concussion. Cal’s cheerleading coach maintains safety certification from several national agencies, including with the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators, which requires concussion education, and the coach has undergone additional inperson training on health, safety and concussions.
“Our policy also requires all members of the Cal cheerleading team to have an examination by a medical staff member when they first join the squad; this process includes in-person concussion education from an athletic trainer and a review of the concussion handout produced by the NCAA for student education.”
USA Cheer did not immediately respond to request for comment on Wednesday.
Martin’s attorney said that she hopes the lawsuit can bring overdue attention to the danger of brain injuries in a sport not commonly associated with them.
“Given that concussions can lead to life-long disabilities, it is simply inex
cusable that the defendants exposed Ms Martin and other cheerleaders to unnecessary head injuries,” Anderson said. “We hope this lawsuit sends a message that the same safety protocols that apply to other collegiate athletes should be in place to protect cheerleaders also.”