DANVILLE, Ind. — A former student cheerleader has filed a lawsuit against the Danville Community School Corporation and two cheerleading coaches alleging that the coaches maintained a bullying culture.
The lawsuit was filed in Hendricks County Superior Court on July 26 by the former student, identified as M.S., against the Danville Community School Corporation, Danville Community High School Head Cheerleading Coach Breanna Galliher and DCHS Assistant Cheerleading Coach Brooklyn Klug.
M.S. reportedly experienced cyberbullying by two female varsity cheerleaders in April of last year, according to the lawsuit.
M.S. shared this with a relative who “notified Coach Galliher in a written Facebook message that members of the DCHS cheerleading teams were bullying their teammates and shared screenshots harassing social media posts directed at M.S.”
The lawsuit said that M.S. shared with a family member that she was being bullied by cheerleaders in July of 2022.
The lawsuit said that Galliher did not take the appropriate measures to report the allegations. The lawsuit alleged that the bullying occurred for longer than a year and that M.S. “didn’t know if she wanted to be alive because of the constant bullying.”
The lawsuit said one of the cheerleaders accused of bullying “voluntarily quit the cheerleading team without any consequences for bullying.”
DCHS never contacted M.S. or her parents after being made aware of the bullying, the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit alleged that other cheerleaders were being bullied in addition to M.S. during the 2022-23 season, as the “bullying culture within the DCHS cheerleading teams was fostered by Coaches Galliher and Klug.”
In January of this year, Coaches Galliher and Klug strongly criticized cheerleaders after a game performance that reportedly left some in tears, the lawsuit said. Two cheerleaders allegedly shared this with school officials.
The lawsuit also alleged that the coaches tried to determine which cheerleaders complained about their treatment by gathering everyone into a circle and asking them to raise their hands “if you thought that what we said last week was just good coaching,” read the lawsuit.
Only one cheerleader did not raise their hand. This cheerleader was later suspended from the team “in retaliation for speaking up, in an effort to discourage other team members from
doing the same,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit also alleged that Galliher and Klug tried to encourage cheerleaders not to seek medical care from doctors but to instead seek care from DCHS’s athletic trainer. Injured team members were allegedly asked to tumble or perform stunts in the routine.
M.S. left the team for her mental health at the recommendation of her doctor.
The coaches did not acknowledge M.S. as a JV cheerleader at a banquet that was held at the end of the competitive year, the lawsuit read. The coaches allegedly labeled her a “quitter” and that she “gave up.”
The lawsuit said an anonymous email detailing the alleged bullying behavior was sent to Superintendent Dr. Tracey Shafer and the Danville Community School Board Corporation’s Board.
“Instead of investigating the bullying, the school’s investigation seemed focused on who made the anonymous complaint,” the lawsuit read.
The principal approached M.S. without her parent’s permission to discuss her mental health, the lawsuit alleged.
“This seemed to be a targeted effort to determine which student complained about bullying,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit also referenced DCHS’s student handbook, stating that any bullying allegations that are reported to a teacher or counselor must be forwarded to the school administration.
“The coaches have fostered a bullying dynamic between the JV and Varsity teams, and created an atmosphere that puts the young team members’ own physical and mental health and safety at risk,” read the lawsuit.
FOX59 has contacted the Danville Community School Corporation for comment.
