Police Launch Investigation After ‘Distressing' Video Emerges of High School Cheerleaders Forced Into Splits

Nbcwashington · Aug 24, 2017 · 239 words · By • At

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What to know about Police Launch Investigation After ‘Distressing' Video Emerges of High School Cheerleaders Forced Into Splits

Police are investigating a Denver high school's administration after video surfaced of cheerleaders being forced into doing splits, NBC affiliate KUSA reported.

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Police are investigating a Denver high school's administration after video surfaced of cheerleaders being forced into doing splits, NBC affiliate KUSA reported.

Why it matters

The video shows an incoming freshman at East High School surrounded by teammates and a coach in June during the first week of cheer camp.

Common ground

The girl screams in pain and repeatedly cries "please stop" as the group tries to force her legs into a split.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Police Launch Investigation After ‘Distressing' Video Emerges of High School Cheerleaders Forced Into Splits?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The school's principal, cheer coach, assistant cheer coach and an assistant principal, as well as Denver Public Schools deputy general counsel, have been placed on leave during the investigation?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/video-high-school-chee…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 3

info Single Source 2

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Claim 1: “The school's principal, cheer coach, assistant cheer coach and an assistant principal, as well as Denver Public Schools deputy general counsel, have been placed on leave during the investigation.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources confirm that the principal (Andy Mendelsberg), cheer coach (Ozell Williams), assistant cheer coach (Mariah Cladis), assistant principal/athletic director (Lisa Porter), and DPS deputy general counsel (Michael Hickman/Huckman) were placed on leave.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Denver ( DEN-vər) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Officially a consolidated city and county, it is located in the South Platte River valley on the western edge o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — East High School is a historical public high school located in the City Park neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Denver Public Schools system, and is on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_High_School_(Denver,_Colo…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South High School is a historical public high school in the Washington Park neighborhood on the south side of Denver, Colorado, United States. It is part of Denver Public Schools, and is one of four o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_High_School_(Denver,_Col…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 2: “The video shows an incoming freshman at East High School surrounded by teammates and a coach in June during the first week of cheer camp.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for claim 1 consists of general Wikipedia entries about East High Schools in different states and does not mention the specific video, the freshman, or the June cheer camp.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Salt Lake High School East or simply East High School is a public high school in the Salt Lake City School District in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It serves grades nine through twelve in gene…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_High_School_(Utah)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wauwatosa East High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school in the city of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. It is part of the Wauwatosa School District. The school was originally known as Wauwatos…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wauwatosa_East_High_School

info

Claim 3: “KUSA received seven similar videos.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for claim 2 only confirms that KUSA is a news station in Denver; it does not mention the receipt of seven videos.

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web search NEUTRAL — 9NEWS.com is the official website for KUSA-TV, your trusted source for breaking news, weather and sports in Denver, CO. 9NEWS.com
https://www.9news.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — KUSA - Denver - Streaming Live local news and weather. Live or on demand with NewsON.
https://www.newson.us/stationDetails/240

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web search NEUTRAL — View Kusa-tv (www.9news.com) location in Colorado, United States , revenue, industry and description. Find related and similar companies as well as employees by title and much more.
https://www.zoominfo.com/c/kusa-tv/117113669

verified

Claim 4: “Child abuse detectives with the Denver Police Department launched an investigation on August 23, when they received an anonymous tip about cheerleader coach at East High School”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided for claim 5 consists of general information about the city of Denver and the Denver Police Department, but does not mention the specific date of August 23 or the anonymous tip regarding the coach.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Aurora Police Department (APD) is a law enforcement agency serving the City of Aurora, Colorado, United States and some surrounding areas. Its headquarters are at 15001 East Alameda Parkway. APD i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Police_Department

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides police services to the entire county, including Denver Inte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_Police_Department

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “Parents have sent complaints to school administrators and the coach for months”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for claim 4 contains irrelevant text (fiction/unrelated stories) and general Wikipedia entries on parenting and other schools, providing no information about parent complaints at East High School.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — East High School is a public four-year magnet high school located in Memphis, Tennessee. East originally opened in 1948, as a K–12 school, and became exclusively a high-school in 2008. It is the first…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_High_School_(Tennessee)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following article is a list of characters appearing in the High School Musical film series. Currently, the characters who appear in High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and High School Musi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_High_School_Musical_ch…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tiger parenting is a form of strict parenting, whereby parents are highly invested in ensuring their children's success. Specifically, tiger parents push their children to attain high levels of academ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_parenting

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Police are investigating a Denver high school's administration after video surfaced of cheerleaders being forced into doing splits”

CORROBORATED

While the specific evidence block for claim 0 was empty, the evidence for claims 3, 5, and 6 explicitly confirms that Denver police are investigating East High School staff following videos of cheerleaders being forced into splits.

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Claim 7: “The video was recorded by a cheerleader on the team and was anonymously sent to KUSA.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for claim 7 consists of general information about cheerleading and does not confirm who recorded the video or how it was sent to KUSA.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading

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web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · Varsity.com is the authoritative resource for cheerleaders, cheerleading, cheerleading camps, cheerleading competitions, cheerleading uniforms, cheerleading videos and much more.
https://www.varsity.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 4, 2025 · Discover everything about cheer in this definitive guide from Cheer Athletics. Learn about the history, techniques, competition formats, and training from the world's leading cheerleadin…
https://cheerathletics.com/complete-guide-to-cheer/

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Claim 8: “Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg called the video 'extremely distressing' in a statement.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent news sources (Fox 59 and another web result) explicitly quote Superintendent Tom Boasberg calling the videos 'extremely distressing'.

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web search NEUTRAL — Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg calls the videos "extremely distressing."
https://fox59.com/news/denver-police-investigate-disturbing-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg calls the videos "extremely distressing."
https://wgntv.com/news/video-shows-high-school-cheerleaders-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Five school officials at East High School in Denver were placed on administrative leave following disturbing video during cheerleader practice over the summer.
https://www.wkbw.com/news/national/video-shows-denver-cheerl…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.