This dance team’s photos with a police vehicle ‘crossed the line,’ Illinois superintendent says

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Matthew Martinez - Kansas City Star




Photos surfaced on social media Wednesday from what school Superintendent Jim Greenwald called a Granite City High School dance team “community outreach event” with police.

It’s safe to say the community of just under 30,000 on the western border of Illinois has not been pleased with the outreach.

“When I saw the photos I was very shocked, very disappointed, very surprised,” Greenwald told KSDK. “[I] knew immediately it was very inappropriate and they had crossed the line.”

Two high-school-age girls can be seen in the photos dressed in their dance team uniforms with their hands against a Granite City police SUV, smiling back at the camera, while an adult poses sternly with her arms crossed on top of the police vehicle.

In another photo, a third girl is pictured squatting between the two girls with her arms extended as if hugging her teammates.

Greenwald confirmed to KTVI that the woman pictured atop the SUV is the girls’ coach, a part-time school district employee, and said that the district has not decided what, if any, punishment that coach or the members of the dance team might face.

“The high school principal and the athletic director met with the coach last night and made clear that this was not appropriate and that they have to think before they act. They represent the school,” Greenwald told the station.

When KSDK initially posted the photos to the station’s Facebook page Thursday night, they drew 165 comments, most of them concerned about the suggestive poses, the angle of the photos and the coach’s decision to pose in the photos.

“I’d be pissed if it were one of my girls,” one commenter wrote. “Choose another angle!”

“And you wonder why there so much sex trafficking going on,” wrote another. “Just put yourself out there for all the perverts then that can be the photo we used to look for you while you come up missing. This is very tasteless!”

But some also criticized the station instead of the girls or their coach.

“You aired this and barely blurred out the identity of those underage girls who have to go to school tomorrow?” one person asked.

[Pony]

So, I was wondering what's inappropriate about their cheer uniforms that you can't see at every game? They are blurring it like the girls aren't wearing underwear or something.

Nope, just girls having fun posing with the SWAT truck. I swear every year the definition of "inappropriate" gets more conservative. A few more years we will be requiring girls to wear burkas til 18.

Deeply disturbing pic:

 

[Hikari Kisugi]

Yes, the complaint about the angle of the photo etc, well one could not see the coach on top of the vehicle if the angle was different.
Everything in the photo is fully on display at each meet, event and game.


It does suggest either the uniform itself is at fault, or there is no fault.

[Pony]

Media has to invent something every day for us to be horrified about. God forbid kids wear bathing suits to the pool or beach any longer. There could be riots in the streets!

[RBP]

For anyone who's not been to granite city, there's not a lot going on there.

[RBP]

So, I was wondering what's inappropriate about their cheer uniforms that you can't see at every game? They are blurring it like the girls aren't wearing underwear or something.

Nope, just girls having fun posing with the SWAT truck. I swear every year the definition of "inappropriate" gets more conservative. A few more years we will be requiring girls to wear burkas til 18.

Deeply disturbing pic:

 

Media has to invent something every day for us to be horrified about. God forbid kids wear bathing suits to the pool or beach any longer. There could be riots in the streets!

I agree that there's nothing inappropriate here, but not sure I think standards of decency are getting more conservative.