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The Austin Peay cheerleading squad is in hot water this week. The entire team has reportedly been suspended for potential violations.
News of the punishment has led to an investigation from AP officials as they look to unearth the details of the wrongdoing.
Mike Organ of the Tennessean broke the news on Wednesday night. Here’s what he had to say.
The Austin Peay cheerleading team was suspended indefinitely by the university on Wednesday… There are 25 members on two Austin Peay cheer squads coached by Maurice Grant.
Organ writes that the cheerleaders did not accompany the basketball team to a recent matchup at Central Arkansas, and the status of the group is unclear as the season comes to an end. The men’s basketball squad has four regular season games remaining while the women have five contests left.
Athletic Director Gerald Harrison commented on the report, but he’s been reluctant to give much detail.
“Our investigation is still in its infancy so I don’t want to speculate where it would lead to, or could lead to. We have to let the process run its course and let dedicated professionals that deal with these issues deal with it. If that takes a day or two, then it takes a day or two. If it takes four weeks then it takes four weeks. I don’t know and I’m not rushing them for a judgement.”
While he didn’t dive into the potential violations, he did clear the dance team and mascot of any wrongdoing.
“This only deals with our cheerleading squad. This does not include the dance (team) or mascot at this time. We take this very seriously and we’ll move this along as best we can, and it will be thorough.”
This is yet another bizarre cheerleading story seen over the last few weeks.
At Jackson State, we saw a cheerleader receive an interference call after trying to distract opposing players during free throw attempts. At Mississippi Valley State, a member of the squad was ejected from the game for an inappropriate act on the court.
It will be interesting to see what the findings of the investigation reveal.