Cheerleader's Dream Turns Tragic

Feb. 16, 2006 — -- No longer about simple toothy grins, high kicks, and purposeful fists in the air, cheerleading has become a sport full of flips, jumps and precarious grabs. Rechelle Sneath was like many girls following the cheerleading dream until one day her worst nightmare came to life. Now, she finds herself suing her university and former coach.

In January 2004, Sneath was practicing her routines. Among them, a basket toss.

The impressive move is a back flip in the air where spotters catch you as you fall. She was told to do a "double toss," two aerial flips.

Sneath says she told the coach she had never done a double before.

"I had asked for an additional spotter, and then she said I didn't need it," Sneath said.

The first flip went well. But Sneath fell on the second.

"I was in shock and I was just: 'Oh my God.' I couldn't feel my legs. And I just was praying, 'Oh my God, I hope I'm going to be OK,'" Sneath said.

The 18-year-old broke a vertebrae in her spine. Two years later, she still cannot use her legs.

"Cheerleading can be a great sport and a lot of fun, but there are risks in it and those risks can be guarded against by a good coach who's trained and certified," said Cynthia McGuinn, Sneath's lawyer.

McGuinn says the coach was a dance instructor, unqualified to teach difficult cheerleading stunts.

San Jose State and the attorney for the cheerleading coach, who is no longer with the school, declined a request by KGO TV for an interview. But what happened to Sneath is happening to a lot more cheerleaders than one might expect. In fact, some say cheerleading has become dangerous.

Dr. Sally Harris, a sports medicine specialist, points to an alarming statistic: About half of all the catastrophic sports injuries nationwide are suffered by cheerleaders.

"We're talking about spine injuries that lead to paralysis as the result of a fall. It's definitely a high-risk, dangerous sport," Harris said.