A cheer team in Maryland is seeing backlash after the mother of one of the team members says her daughter was kicked off a private cheer team because of her hair.
“I felt really sad because I got kicked off the team because my hair is too thick and long,” said 7-year-old Ryan Brunson, who is Black and was on the Maryland Twisters cheerleading team.
Brunson's mother, SaRaya Woolridge, said the first thing the coach told her was 'she can't wear her hair like that.' "
According to WDVM, Brunson’s mother said the team gave members two hair options for competition. One was a ponytail, the other was a half up half down style but the hair had to be shoulder length. Woolridge decided to opt for the half up half down hairstyle for her daughter, a style she’s done before in past cheer seasons, but this was an issue for one of the coaches at this competition.
“I need to understand what about her hair is wrong because I copied it off of an approved hairstyle that they provided for us,” said Woolridge, adding that the coach then attempted to put Brunson's hair in a ponytail.
Woolridge wrote an email to the team's management, and a leader responded that Brunson has "much more hair" in person compared to photos Woolridge took to document her daughter's hair on the day of a competition.
“Ryan does have a lot of beautiful hair. I know in your attached photos it seems similar to the girls in the photos. However, I did see her yesterday. She has much more hair than this photo shows. It is long in real life, because it’s all one length, and the other girls have their hair cut in shorter layers. With that said, Ryan needs to have her hair in a high pony,” management said in an email to Woolridge.
Woolridge believes her daughter has been discriminated against.
“Because her hair is thicker than the other girl’s hair you’re going to tell her that she can’t wear her hair like that?” she said. “I’m now having to explain to her that in life you’re going to be discriminated against based on so many different factors, now it’s something that you can’t control.”
Brunson was later kicked off the team.
“Our values simply do not align. It’s best for both parties that you no longer continue at the Maryland Twisters program,” the email stated.
Woolridge posted her story online and received many messages from Black mothers and cheerleaders who had dealt with similar situations in the cheer world.
In a statement posted online, Maryland Twisters said in part:
“We are saddened at the allegations of racial bias and embrace our athletes of all races, creeds, genders, and experiences. All star cheerleading and Maryland Twisters has provided an inclusive refuge for atheletes and coaches alike for 26 years. We are proud of the diversity we draw to our cheerleading family and continue to provide options for our athletes that support inclusion, including genderless uniform choices and hair policies that support all races. We are open to course correction and continued inclusion is paramount.”
Woolridge said she hopes the incident will help other programs deal with hair issues in a more sensitive manner.
“I think that the cheerleader organization should look at it as a whole about how how they’re making children feel about their hair, their makeup, their weight, everything like appearance wise, these kids just want to cheer,” she said.
