With the competition season kicking off for many all-star teams, it wouldn't be a season without a little scandal and even some legal trouble.
Several lawsuits have been filed since August of this year, all claiming sexual abuse towards minor athletes. Many names have been listed, but one name that really started it off was Rockstar Cheer owner and founder Scott Foster. Foster was under federal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for sexual misconduct towards minors at the time of his death on Aug. 22. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office states that Foster died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was found in his car at Paris Mountain State Park.
The USASF released a statement on Aug. 30 regarding the allegations. It reads:
“The US All Star Federation (USASF), a membership organization for competitive cheer and dance, is devastated to learn of allegations about potential abuse of All Star athletes in South Carolina and potentially other areas as well. Our organization is dedicated to athlete safety, in all aspects, and has created a strong foundation that relies on athletes, coaches, event producers, and parents to report allegations of prohibited conduct affecting members at events and facilities where are members are present.”
It continues:
"We will not comment on allegations to developments associated with this matter to allow law enforcement to appropriately investigate the allegations. We are continuing our efforts to promote safety for all of our members and help them understand that they should report any allegations to law enforcement as well as to USASF."
At the end of the statement, they provide a link to make a report for parents, athletes, and coaches that suspect something has been going on within their respective gyms.
The attorneys with Strom Law Firm, Bakari Sellers, Alexandra Benevento and Jessica Fickling allege that this abuse dates back as far as two decades and there could be upwards of 100 victims that haven’t come forward.
During a press conference, attorneys from Strom Law Firm, who are also representing additional survivors, revealed that there are victims both male and female, one as old as 38 years old, and some living as far away as California.
“We have come together in what has become one of the most devastating and tragic occurences of institutional sexual abuse we’ve seen in line with the likes of Michigan State and USA Gymnastics and many other national cases that you hear about,” Sellers said on Aug. 30.
A Timeline of Events
The first lawsuit filed on August 30, was filed on behalf of a minor going by Jane Doe, who alleges that after she was put on the top Worlds team in the gym, Foster started to exchange sexual images and pictures with the minor which then he “persuaded” the girl into “performing various sexual acts” with him on at least 10 occasions.
“Over the course of a year, beginning in early 2020, Foster began to take an interest in Plaintiff upon her promotion to the top tier team within Rockstar,” The petition states. “Over the next six months, Foster had multiple communications with Plaintiff, primarily through Snapchat, that included messages of a sexual nature, nude pictures of himself and requests for nude pictures of Plaintiff.”
The suit states that Rockstar Cheer failed to conduct the proper steps in training including background checks and staff conduct.
Another suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Greenville, South Carolina against Foster’s estate, Rockstar Cheer, Foster’s wife Kathy, USASF and Bain Capital, the parent company to Varsity Spirit, on the behalf of several anonymous plaintiffs accusing those mentioned that they knew, or should have at least known about the abuse occurring at the gym.
This suit further accused Foster of providing drugs and alcohol to minors, soliciting pictures, and even assault.
In this 44-page complaint, the suit says that “Defendants Varsity Spirit, LLC, Bain Capital LP, and USASF, established a competitive environment soliciting young athletes to cross state lines with minimal parental or adult supervision, to converge at pre-scheduled locations where the athletes would then be exposed to drugs, alcohol, and predatory conduct by adults including coaches and choreographers, all while publicly representing that Defendants were providing a culture of safety at these same events.”
Scott Foster was suspended by the USASF in 2018 and was on the temporary ineligible list for a period of time. This happened after videos started to circulate on social media that showed Foster drinking alcohol with cheerleaders who were below the legal drinking age. However, even though Foster was suspended, he continued to attend USASF-Sanctioned competitions, essentially a pass for furthering his inappropriate behavior.
On Sept. 15, attorneys with the Strom Law Firm expanded this federal lawsuit as more survivors came forward, listing six new defendants. Coaches named were previous employees with Rockstar Cheer and were accused of a range of inappropriate and illegal behavior including touching, oral sex, soliciting nude photos, groping, rape, and sending nude photos and videos to minor athletes.
“What happened here was that these institutions convinced parents, convinced guardians, convinced caretakers that we will take care of your children,” Fickling said. “Instead they took their children and they physically and sexually and mentally abused them.”
Video to press conference that occurred a week after Foster took his own life.
Within the root of this 76-page suit filed with the South Carolina District Court, it was known that this sexual abuse was happening, but often ignored and allowed Rockstar to continue making money and keep their name out of the mud.
The suit says on page 55, “Defendants’ conduct included misleading and fraudulent messaging to children and their families which Defendants knew or should have known would endanger children who were not in a position to discover the danger since Defendants were concealing the danger and failing to report it, acting in reckless indifference to the safety of the children in the name of growing profits.”
Similar iterations of this are included in the suit:
“The Defendants knew or should have known that inappropriate contact was occurring between coaches, choreographers, videographers, and other adult and minor athletes based on the one-on-one coaching being marketed and the travel of children across state lines with their coaches who stayed in hotel rooms with them and had been rumored, and even captured on camera, engaging in illegal and inappropriate acts with the minors.”
"The conduct alleged herein is tied to billions of dollars of interstate commerce, with the Varsity Defendants, their governing bodies, and their parents controlling 80% of the competitive cheer market through membership fees, gym and coaching fees, competition fees, insurance, apparel and traveling for training and competition events across the United States and the world."
Of the coaches listed within the petition, one of the more shocking allegations was against Kenny Feeley. At the time of the filing, Feeley’s association and employment with Rockstar Cheer is unknown. A Jane Doe 3 came forward, recalling a competition where adult coaches were assigned to stay in athletes’ hotel rooms.
The complaint states, “One such person assigned to stay in Plaintiff Jane Doe 3’s room was an adult coach, Defendant Kenny Feeley, who climbed into bed with Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 and groped and fondled her, and digitally penetrated her. She was 16 years old at the time.”
It goes on to describe an instance where Foster set up a private lesson for Jane Doe 3 with Feeley.
“Instead of training, however, Defendant Feeley took Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 to his apartment, where he gave her alcohol and marijuana, before transporting Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 to a secondary location, where he raped her.”
Kenny Feeley and his family released a statement through a PR firm, adamantly denying all claims made in the lawsuit.
“Although we have not yet been formally notified, it has come to our attention that Kenny has been named, among others, in a wide-ranging civil lawsuit alleging a past instance of improper conduct, at some point in his career, by an anonymous individual.
We are dismayed and frankly stunned by these accusations, and to be clear, the claim is categorically false. Kenny has always, and will always conduct himself with integrity and professionalism, and his loving family and community stand by him with their fullest support.
As always - we remain steadfast in our convictions as long-standing advocates for greater safety, transparency, and protections for all athletes in cheerleading, while we vigorously defend Kenny’s reputation against this unsubstantiated claim, and related inaccuracies and mistruths.”
Source: WYFF4 News, Statement per Red Banyon PR Firm.
(As of November 7, Kenny Feeley is on the USASF Restricted & Ineligible List. Status of his membership is “Ineligible Pending NGB Update/ Outcome of Litigation.” However, it is just a temporary restriction. )
Rockstar Cheer Closes Its Doors.
In the wake of these federal lawsuits, gyms that were once associated under the Rockstar Cheer franchise, quickly severed their ties.
“As a group of like-minded program owners previously brought together under the Rockstar name, we are standing together collectively to express our unwavering support for our kids and their parents, and to reiterate our commitment to ensuring a safe and positive cheerleading community.” The gym owners said in a joint statement.
“As for the brand and name, they will both be changing, effective immediately. While our tie to Rockstar was always in name only, we are making this switch to clearly and totally disassociate our kids, their parents, and our instructors and staff from any association with behaviors that have absolutely nothing to do with who we are, and how we run our programs.”
Prior to the federal lawsuit being expanded, Kathy Foster announced that Rockstar Cheer would be closing their doors “indefinitely.”
Foster announced the closure in a statement:
“Last night I announced that Rockstar Cheerleading and Dance is closing its doors indefinitely. Although this was a difficult decision, I believe it is the best option under the circumstances. Over the past 15 years, our incredible athletes have worked hard to build a winning legacy and I will always be extremely proud of each of them. I ask for privacy for my children and for those personally affected during this difficult time.”
Source: CheerUpdates on Twitter
"It feels as if they simply don't care."
Since September alone, there have been four lawsuits filed against Rockstar Cheer, and one against Premier Athletics, based out of Knoxville, Tennessee. In them, they mention Varsity Spirit, LLC., USASF, and Bain Capital and how they allowed this abuse to happen, simply for the mere fact that they profit off of the athletes.
“This is something that’s happening all around the country,” Sellers said in a press conference on September 27. “The most amazing thing is Varsity just built a new facility here in Memphis, Tennessee, and they built it on the back of sex abuse victims.”
The newest lawsuit filed comes out of Raleigh, South Carolina. This complaint mentions Cheer Extreme, both their Raleigh and Kernersville locations. The general allegations follow what’s been mentioned in other cases, and mentions a profiting conspiracy.
The newest federal lawsuit that was filed on behalf of a young male athlete, claims he was sexually abused by coaches at Cheer Extreme in both their Raleigh and Kernersville locations.
In this 61-page federal lawsuit, it states that in “this complaint, the Defendants, together and individually have created, organized, and propagated a system of young-athlete abuse against innocent victims including Plaintiff John Doe 1.” The Plaintiff was a teenager at the time he was allegedly abused by staff, even choreographers who are USASF credentialed.
Jessica Fickling, Bakari Sellers, and Alexandra Benevento are also representing this John Doe 1, as well as others who have recently come forward.
“At this point, we are seeing a pattern,” Sellers said in a statement addressing the lawsuit. “These entities have every chance to protect their athletes from sexual predators but, until a family goes public and the information can no longer be shuffled to the side or into a file somewhere, they do nothing…”
In a statement from Varsity, they have denied any wrongdoing:
“We reject any accusation that Varsity Spirit enabled such unthinkable behavior. We are committed to supporting survivors and their pursuit of justice against those individuals responsible. We will keep listening, learning, and championing safety and security to best protect children in this sport.”
As of November 9, no names have been listed tied to the Cheer Extreme federal lawsuit.
These lawsuits are still under active investigation and updates will be posted as they become available.
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