(no subject)
I grew up in Marietta, Georgia, where almost everyone went to the Baptist church on Sunday--everyone except my family. My brothers, sisters and I went to Hebrew school instead. I knew being Jewish made me different from most people there, but no one treated me that way--until I got to college.
I was a cheerleader all through high school--and got recruited by a bunch of colleges my junior year. I chose the University of Georgia, which is a huge Division 1 school where I'd get to perform for thousands of fans. I was totally psyched to try out for their team!
In fall 2000, I was a senior and I practiced for tryouts daily at a gym near my high school. That spring, two girls I knew who also cheered came over to me at the gym. "We hear you're trying out for UGA cheer," one said. She went on to tell me the coach was Christian--and very religious. "Don't let it slip that you're Jewish in your interview," she warned. That freaked me out. I mean, I'd always been a minority, but I'd never had to pretend that I wasn't exactly who I was. Still, I tried to push those thoughts out of my head and vowed to do my best at tryouts. More than 70 girls vied for 20 spots. At the end, I was chosen as a football cheerleader--UGA's most elite squad--an honor for a freshman!
I was so excited, but what the girl at the gym had said was still haunting me: i was really scared to tell Coach Braswell I was Jewish. So I calledd my parents to get their advise. "I don't want you to hide who you are," my mom said--and I knew she was right. So a week later, when the squad went out to lunch together, I saw my opportunity: Coach and I were alone in a booth talking about our families. "Well, my family is Jewish," I said casually. "So, what do y'all think about Jesus?" she asked. "We still believe in him," I said carefully. "But we think he was a prophet." Coach smiled sweetly but didn't really say anything else. I was just so relieved I'd finally told her.
A few weeks later, before we left for an away game, coach made us get in a circle--then she began to pray:"Jesus keep us safe..." I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be rude and leave the circle--but I also didn't want to pray to Jesus. It felt like I was betraying my religion, so I just bowed my head but kept my eyes open.
That season Coach has us pray all the time. We asked Jesus to help us do our best on the field before each home game. We thanked him for our food at every meal, and Coach had us ask him to keep us safe when we drove to away games. I was becoming more and more upset.
Then in October, on a Sunday before Halloween, Coach invited the whole team over to carve pumpkins. "Afterward, you can all stay for cheerleader bible study!" she announced. It was so awkward: I didn't want to be the only one to leave, but I did. I couldn't believe coach was doing this even though she knew I was Jewish. It felt really disrespectful of my beliefs.
One day in March 2002, we were running on the track when one of my teammates said out of the blue, "It looks bad that you're not going to bible study." I couldn't believe it. "But I'm Jewish!" I protested. "It doesn't matter. We all go just to stay on her good side," she insisted. "Well than you're going for the wrong reasons," I replied.
About a week later, I ran into a cheerleader from another school at a competition. "Someone at UGA told me you're not going to make the football squad this year," she said. How could anyone know that? We hadn't had tryouts yet! "I hear it's because your coach knows you're Jewish now," she said.
That made me nervous, so I went to Coach's office to talk. "girls are saying I'm going to be cut for being Jewish," I said. "Sweetie, it's not true," she said. "I admit I do feel spiritually closer to the Christian girls, but that doesn't mean I love you less." I thanked her and left, confused: What did feeling spiritually close have to do with cheerleading?
At tryouts in mid-April, I nailed every backflip and was feeling confident, but an hour later, when Coach posted the scores, my heart sank: Sure enough, I'd been bumped, from football to men's basketball, just like I'd been warned.
In spring 2003, I finally got up the courage to tell one of my professors about all of it: the prayed, the bible study, the Jesus references--how i felt I was being punished for being Jewish. He suggested I file a complaint with the university, so I did. Then I got demoted again, to women's basketball, after I'd just won an award for being the best tumbler at UGA! This time, I went to the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism, and filed a grievance with UGA.
After a yearlong investigation, the university fired Coach in August, and this year I am finally back on the football squad. I'm glad to be where I belong. Now I really understand how important it is to always stand up for who I am--and what I believe in.
In August 2004, the university of Georgia fired Coach Marilou Braswell, citing discourteous and disruptive behavior as the reasons for her dismissal. Braswell has served as the head of the UGA cheerleading squads for nearly 12 years.
Coach Braswell responds: "This whole thing breaks my heard. I loved all my cheerleaders, no matter what their religion or nationality. When they made my team, they became part of my family, and I was very proud of that.
Jaclyn didn' make the squad she wanted and alleged that it was because we're of different faiths. But I was fired because the school was scared and wanted to prevent a lawsuit. The only religious overtones to my program were that I happen to be a Christian person and the fact that my husband is a pastor--there was no correlation between who made the football squad and which religious activities they attended."
christians these days..tsk tsk tsk.