As I was sitting down and watching television on Saturday evening, I happened to stumble upon a movie on Lifetime entitled The Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleading Scandal. The movie was based upon a true story that occurred at McKinney North High School in Mckinney, Texas where five cheerleaders (dubbed themselves the Fab Five) were able to get away with all sorts of bullying of their teachers and fellow students. The Principal, Linda Theret, was the mother of one of the girls on the squad. This problem kept occurring until a new Cheerleading Coach, Michaela Ward, came and stood up to the school and the school district. She tried to discipline these girls but to no avail. These girls not only terrorized the school, they also committed such acts as making a sexually explicit video and posted it on My Space while in uniform in a condom store and holding bottles of alcohol. When the story broke and made national news, Ms. Ward was told she was “emotional” and “in need of meds” and was fired from her job as a result of her trying to do the right thing and discipline these girls. However, the investigators also faulted Ms. Theret and other school officials for not enforcing discipline and allowing these girls to get away with so much. The Principal was eventually dismissed from her job and the girls were dismissed from the school. I have no idea what ever happened to these girls but being removed from school was a step in the right direction.
This is a serious problem in our nation. Daily I hear from angry parents who have children being bullied in school by their peers and nothing is ever done to remedy the problem. Many cases are swept under the rug and the bully has carte blanche on everyone and everything around them without consequences. It may not always be a Mckinney North High School situation but the problem is all in the same. Peer Abuse, bullying, misuse of power and its all there. They are quite the little charmers too. They know who to be sweet to and who to walk all over. They fool authority or walk all over them depending on how they can best manipulate the situation. Overall, they make life a living hell for everyone around them.
It is high time these schools get educated. Stop burring their heads in the sand and allow this problem to fester. Ms. Ward laid blame on the adults in the situation but I also blame the students. These girls were seniors in high school and a few short months heading into the real world. They were most certainly old enough to know right from wrong. However, as someone said “kids will be kids”. No, kids need discipline and need to abide by the rules and learn that consequences exist for a reason. That excuse is played out far too much if you ask me. Schools need to enforce these anti-bullying policies and stop the misuse of power not only in adults but in students as well. They need to take things more seriously and have programs on peer abuse and bullying on a regular basis. Incorporate bullying into the curriculum. I know a science teacher who finds a way to incorporate this into his daily lessons. Folks, it can be done.
Hopefully, someone out there learned something from this movie. Again, I have no idea what ever happened to all of the players involved but I do hope McKinney North cleared up its policies and enforced discipline on all without the favoritism and exceptions in anyone.
Source: http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/fab-five-texas-cheerleader-scandal
Elizabeth Bennett is the Author of Peer Abuse Know More! Bullying From A Psychological Perspective and resides in Los Angeles, California. To learn more, visit http://www.peerabuse.info
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19 users commented in " McKinney North High School and The Texas Cheerleading Scandal "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackbacki thynk dat wat da girls did was awsome dose dumb ass kids deserved wat da hell dey mother fuckin got dey deserved to be bullied and the teachers deserved to be ran over so shut the fuck up and leave those pretty little girls alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok either you are young and dumb or some perverted person that gets a kick out of what these girls did… it was wrong and they got what they deserved… I promise you they will look back and regret what they did
Thank you getonmylevel, I could not have said it better myself.
Elizabeth Bennett
They got what they deserved actually they need more. The mom was obsuivley didn’t take her responsiblity as a parent and as a principal.
okay,I lived in McKinney when this happened and I was a freshman at McKinney North when the so called “Fab Five” ruled the school. All those rumors about the girls running the school is ridiculous. I had never even heard of the “Fab Five”. They were just a bunch of stupid cheerleaders wanting attention, and thats exactly what yall gave them.
i just watchedthe fab five yesterday and if what i saw in the movie was how those girls acted the mother/principal and the girls should be ashamed of themselves if i was one of the classmates id kick teir asses!!
I wish something like this happened at my school. =]
THATS NOT TRUE I WENT TO MCKINNEY NORTH N NONE OF THAT SYUF WAS TRUE NO ONE EVER BULLIED ME ITS A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT
I’m going mckinney north high school this year, they built a new high school in mckinney so North doesn’t have alot of
kids, it’s more down to earth.
so i love the movie…..how ever i think it was taken to a level ,,makin a movie not only is scarin these girls but its rediculous u handle the sistuation why the hell r u prolonhin it ..teenagers are stupid and do dumb things accordin the movie the ring leader wanted attention from her mom why not talk to her about her mom…and the teacher meet the school runnin okish..her pushin and tryin to be a COOL and great teacher cause all the drama…the jerry girl i felt for her how wud u feel all ur friends r cheerleaders and ur not …the kid was on the team let her be she almost of the school not only that girls fight over boys all the time
i understand they r rude and they sud be punished …BUt the teacher went to far and sellin her story to lifetime bitch wanted a pay day i hope she rots in hell…and the girls i’m sorry but u sud of behaved and to the mother ur not a bad mother u just love ur daughter to much
and amrica the reason u have bullies cause u ppl dont beat ur kids in antigua NO body bullies ppl in school lol cause we got manners properly at home
It’s a shame that this type of behavior at a High School happened. These girls were out of control and did not care about anyone but themselves. This kind of behavior gives ALL cheerleaders a bad name. I thank the coach for fighting for what was right. Turning your head is why this type of behavior was allowed to happen. Coming forward and telling the truth (or selling her story) is why this is not happening at this school no longer. The so called principal should NOT ever be allowed to run a school again. She is a disgrace, plain and simple. What are these girls going to do in the real world? I’m sure they girls are learning the hard way what the real world is. I can not believe anyone would take up for these girls ever. DISGRACEFUL!!!!!
haha, wow, lmaooo. i can’t believe anyone would condone behavior such as this. it is ridiculous. i am a cheerleader in high school now, a captain actually, and i would never act like those girls. i don’t get how the students let them act like that. i wouldn’t let anyone push me around like that, i would beat a girls ass in a heart beat. not even kidding. it’s going to be funny when these girls go out into the real world and get a nice slap in the face, there is always someone out there just a little bit tougher than you who won’t take their shit. i’d love to know how many times they’ve had their ass beat since they graduated. these girls wouldn’t last a day at my school. i think the principal, teachers, and school board are all pansies for not standing up to five teenage girls. if a girl on my squad ever behaved such as this she’d be removed from the squad permanently and more than likely expelled.
but continue to condone behavior such as this people, it will bite you in the ass. just wait til you have kids and they go into high school and are tormented by someone like them. remember, you’re the one that viewed this behavior as acceptable. (: so please, carry one thinking it’s fine.
I saw the movie today in Australia. Those girls and the mother principal and the deputy deserve everything they get. I would have loved for someone to stick the girls head in pigs shit to see how they would feel getting bullied. Kids today get away to easy because communication between people is not there. They talk via SMS or computers and don’t feel the reaction of the other person when they speak. Good on the cheerleader coach as she had balls to stand up and be countered when it needed it to be. To the people that get bullied remember tommorrow is another day and to those people that bully remember the word called “kalma”!
I live in Mckinney.
No one.
Cares.
Not only that, every High School in Mac Town talks shit about North because it’s dirty, ghetto, and everyone there is fake and does stuff like this regularly.
Soo, yeah.
Don’t get the wrong impression of Mckinney just because some stupid whores did stuff every High School cheerleader does.
Lol, North. Is. Shit.
It seriously has like 12 students.
And it was never populated in the first place.
No one cares about it.
Boyd has like 3100 kids, and High has 2200 kids.
And there’s really no such thing as bullying in Mckinney when you’re in High School.
Kids will mess with you, all in good nature, but it’s people like you with 8 foot poles up your asses that take stuff the wrong way.
its kinda funny how this whole thing had a movie made about it. haha and how all these people think its great that the girls got in trouble but in case you didn’t know, north had its budget severely cut because of this.. the students aren’t even allowed to borrow fucking paper from the teachers haha and bullying is rediculous i mean seriously from fucking cheerleaders?? are you kidding me??!?!? haha the boyd cheerleaders are just skanks not bullies though ahah but then again there is no such thing as a bully. just douchfags and bitches.
I attended Mckinney North in 2006 after being displaced by katrina… i honestly thought it was a great school… i dont know when this supposedly happened… but the school was WAY better than any school i have ever attended before… although it was a bit easier.. Just my humble opinion from a state away…
This was covered by Newsweek (a pretty good source) … Linda Theret was the principal at the time (so if she wasn’t there when you went to the school it was probably after 2006). Karissa Theret the principal’s daughter was the “ringleader” of the Fab Five (which they called themselves) … they self published thier antics on Myspace and YouTube (you can still see some of them, though many of the girls have made thier profiles private now). Karissa also has a facebook. I assure you the pictures are real, the bullying was real and the News Reporters didn’t make the facts up … there was enough proof to suspend the girls and those who allowed them to reign … do the research … any one who says this or other bullying cases don’t exist are nieve and probably are on the bully side of things … but I think the headlines lately with children killing themselves due to bullying is more than enough proof that it exists … though the scandal isn’t about the bullying as much as the out of control girls who did as they pleased and thought they could not get in trouble for it.
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