Tyler Wilson, 11, decided that he wanted to join the Flag City Youth Cheerleading squad after seeing the gymnastics and tumbling at his sister’s practice. His mother, Kristy Wilson, made sure he knew that he might get teased for being a male cheerleader:
“The first thing I wanted to make sure of, when he said he was going to join cheerleading, that he understood the possibility was there that he would get teased and made fun of and he was ok dealing with it,” Tyler’s mom told ABC News today.
Tyler was okay with it, and his love for the gymnastics of cheering made it a great experience for the 6th grader until some of his classmates saw him cheering the day before school started this year.
Then the teasing began. The boys even followed Tyler home on several occasions. The last one ended with them beating Tyler up so badly that they broke his arm.
Kristy filed a police report and went to talk to Tyler’s school about the incident, only to discover there had been at least two other incidents at school in which the same boys tried to start a fight with Tyler that the school had told her nothing about.
“I really wish the school would have let me know a lot sooner, so I could have dealt with it sooner,” she told ABC.
The bullies have been charged in youth court, the one who broke Tyler’s arm with felonious assault and the other with simple assault.
As for Tyler, he’s not giving up his new hobby. ”I’m going to keep going. I’m going to make a lifestyle out of it,” Tyler told ABC News affiliate WTVG.
Good for you Tyler!
