Inside Cheerleading

Inside Cheerleading

Inside Cheerleading

On a warm evening in 2003, Krista Parks was beaming with pride on a football field as a cheerleader at the University of Memphis. This was her moment – her squad was practicing for the national cheer championship in Orlando, Fla. Parks was to pull off an ambitious stunt – a high front flip in the air from the top of the pyramid, landing in the arms of her squad; instead, she lost her momentum and fell head first onto a 2-inch foam mat on concrete. The result: a broken neck, a blood clot in her brain and multiple fractures. “I couldn’t feel or move anything,” Parks recalled. “I was pretty miserable.” Following the incident Parks underwent three surgeries, had to wear a neck brace, and then had to deal with years of physical therapy. A...Read More

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