LUBBOCK, Texas (Gray News) – Cheerleaders at a Texas middle school suffered first and second-degree burns on their hands after their coach allegedly made them crawl on the hot outdoor track as punishment earlier this month.
According to a local report from KLBK, 13 cheerleaders at Evans Middle School in Lubbock suffered burns after performing “bear crawls” on Oct. 9.
The eighth-grade cheerleaders told KLBK they were being punished for performing a cheer at a football game that their coach allegedly didn’t want them to do.
The girls said they were told to crawl for a mile, but most were not able to continue after two laps due to the pain on their hands.
One of the cheerleaders said she told the coach her hands were burning, to which the coach responded she “didn’t care” and forced them to keep going.
After hearing about what happened, one of the parents went to check the temperature of the track that afternoon and said it was at least 125 degrees.
KLBK reported at least one cheerleader was taken to the University Medical Center burn unit.
Numerous photos of the girls’ hands show large blisters and burns.
The coach, who is a teacher at the school, was placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation from both the school district and the police.
Parents said they are hoping for criminal charges.
The Lubbock Independent School District confirmed the incident in a statement and said, in part, “We want to express our deep concern and regret for the pain and distress this has caused the students and their families. No child should ever be subjected to harm in a learning environment, and we are fully committed to ensuring that incidents like this do not happen again.”
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