A former Houston Texans cheerleader claims that her cheer coach duct taped her stomach. Because she was deemed to be “skinny fat,” according to reports.
On June 22, Angelina Rosa, a two-year veteran of the Texans cheer squad, became the sixth former cheerleader to join a lawsuit alleging abuse and a hostile workplace fostered by the team’s cheer team directors, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Rosa said that cheer director Alto Gary called her “skinny fat” meaning she did not have the proper abs or body characteristics to take the field. He then allegedly bound her stomach with duct tape.
“My skin was being torn because of the movements,” Rosa said during a press conference. “I stand here today to try to make sure no other girl or woman has to endure this same humiliation.”
“Skinny fat is a term the coach frequently used to say that we’re skinny, but we’re not toned, so we don’t have necessarily the abs or the dimensions or the perfection that they required for us,” Rosa explained.
However, not all members of the Texans cheer squad support the lawsuits against the team.
“I never experienced or even witnessed some of the allegations that I have seen in the media being made by these girls,” former Texans cheerleader Kayla Darlington said. “I’m not sure what their motivation is, I can’t comment on what they say they went through. I can only speak for me and tell you that my experience and even what I witnessed was nothing like what I’ve heard through this lawsuit.”
“This handful of women do not represent the masses when it comes to HTC alumni,” Darlington added.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.