The Sunday Read: ‘How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular’

The Sunday Read: ‘How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular’

0 Recensioner
0
Episod
2192 of 2669
Längd
1T 11min
Språk
Engelska
Format
Kategori
Fakta

Nationwide, just over a million children, mostly girls, participate in cheer each year (some estimates are even higher), more than the number who play softball or lacrosse. And almost every part of that world is dominated by a single company: Varsity Spirit.

It’s hard to cheer at the youth, high school or collegiate level without putting money in the company’s pocket. Varsity operates summer camps where children learn to do stunts and perform; it hosts events where they compete; it sells pompoms they shake and uniforms they wear on the sidelines of high school and college football games.

Varsity’s market power has made the cheer world a paranoid place. In the reporting for this article, dozens of people spoke about the company in conspiratorial tones better suited to a spy thriller.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Lyssna när som helst, var som helst

Kliv in i en oändlig värld av stories

  • 1 miljon stories
  • Hundratals nya stories varje vecka
  • Få tillgång till exklusivt innehåll
  • Avsluta när du vill
Starta erbjudandet
SE - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036
Cover for The Sunday Read: ‘How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular’

Andra podcasts som du kanske gillar...