Headteacher quits after high school coach forced crying teenage cheerleader to do splits

A high school head teacher and athletic director have resigned after footage emerged of a cheerleading coach forcing girls to do the splits.

The videos show eight teenagers being pushed down by Ozell Williams, a coach at East High School in Denver, while other pupils hold their arms and legs – a technique known as “forced splits”.

Andy Mendelsberg, the school principal, and Lisa Porter, the athletic director, both quit following a public outcry over the footage.

Tom Boasberg, Denver Public Schools Superintendent, said the pair had failed to report the incidents to superiors or take any corrective action, according to the Denver Post.

In one clip, 13-year-old Ally Wakefield is shown crying out in pain and repeatedly asking Mr Williams, who was sacked in August, to stop pushing her down.

“He was pushing down on the back of my right leg,” Ms Wakefield told KUSA-TV. “He was pushing like with his other knee on my back to try to keep my posture straight.”

“It was tearing my ligaments and my muscle at the same time.”

Kirsten Wakefield, Ally’s mother, said her daughter struggled to walk as a result of leg injuries following the incident.

“This is a grown man pushing my 13-year-old girl so hard against her will while she’s crying and screaming for him to stop that he’s ripping tissues in her body,” she said.

The videos, which emerged in June, were recorded at the start of a cheerleading camp on the phones of two students before being sent anonymously to KUSA.

Mr Williams had previously been fired from a different school after a colleague saw him using a similar technique to “forced splits” at a summer camp.

Defending his actions, Mr Williams told the Denver Post: “You can definitely say that what was in the video could be seen in a different light. I would love to tell my story, but I can't say anything else at this time.”

At a press conference announcing the principal’s resignation, Mr Boasberg said: "The concerns raised by parents were not limited to the forced splits exercises at cheer practice.

“But rather, they included concerns that Coach Williams had bullied and humiliated cheer team members during practice and had forced injured girls to practice.”

Denver Police are investigating the incident, but charges have yet to be filed.