ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Controversy in Anne Arundel County brews after a mom says her daughter was ultimately kicked off the Maryland Twisters cheerleading team, and it all started because of her child’s 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.
The young girl loves cheerleading. She’s been doing it for the past three years and was a member of the Maryland Twisters. But she did not expect her recent cheer competition would be her last with the team.
“The first thing our coach says to us is ‘she can’t wear her hair like that,'” said her mom SaRaya Woolridge.
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.
She says the coach then attempted to put Ryan’s hair in a ponytail.
The photo below was Brunson’s hairstyle on the day of her competition.
Woolridge took her frustrations to the team’s management via e-mail. A leader responded that Brunson “has much more hair” than the photo shows.
“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.
The mother was not pleased with this response. She feels this was an act of discrimination, given her daughter’s hair is shoulder length in its natural curly state.
“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.”
Ultimately the conversation between Woolridge with management ended with her daughter being 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.
The 7-year-old says she was sad when she realized she could no longer be apart of the team.
“In my mind it was like why would they kick me off the team because I didn’t do anything,” she said.
Her mother posted the incident on social media, and it went viral. She says she received many messages from other African-American mothers and cheerleaders that have dealt with similar situations in the cheer world.
“She’s dedicated so much time and so much energy to the sport, and for someone to her feel so easily disposable. It really upset me,” Woolridge said.
In a statement posted online, the 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 hopes this incident will allow all teams to reconsider how they handle situations like this.
“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.
