‘Something is amiss’ in UK’s investigation and termination of cheerleading coaches
I’m not a former athlete of Jomo Thompson’s. I have no formal association with the University of Kentucky or it’s cheerleading program. I know Jomo through a different lens.
I’m a Wish Kid.
At 14 years old, a cancer diagnosis qualified me to receive a Make-a-Wish. Without pause, I wished to attend UCA College Nationals with the University of Kentucky Cheerleading Team.
I was flown to Florida, and lovingly welcomed by Jomo and the team. I was granted access to practices and team dinners. I was interviewed for magazines and featured on ESPN. I bonded with the team and cried alongside them when they didn’t win, which is quite rare thanks to Jomo.
It’s because of that trip that cheerleading is my livelihood today. I’m the director of a successful competitive cheer program in Ohio. After news broke of the UK cheer team “scandal” I knew I needed to offer my perspective. My dual roles as coach and director of my program hold me accountable for one thing above all else: Athlete safety. I’m reminiscent of my 14-year old self staring in to Jomo’s kind eyes and 31-year-old me can’t reconcile him with the allegations at hand. Envisioning my hero unabashedly allowing athletes safety to be compromised made for a sleepless night. Selfishly, after reading the outcome of the investigation in detail, I felt relief. I am resoundingly convinced that the man I’ve looked up to for 18+ years was wrongfully terminated from his position.
I’ll leave the character witnessing of Jomo up to those who are closer to him. Take a quick scroll through his Facebook page and you’ll quickly gather what kind of man he is. Former athletes repeatedly proclaim “Absolute Responsibility”. It’s what Jomo taught each one of them and it’s one of the reasons why things don’t quite add up.
A measly three-month investigation proved nothing but a violation of a student code of conduct. The only person who held the athletes accountable is Jomo, who made them run after learning of their transgressions. The University has yet to.
A quick Google search will inundate with you with a flood of collegiate athletic scandals, UK included, spanning decades and ranging from rape to point shaving schemes to fabricated classes. It’s rare that a coach is terminated, at least without corrective action to begin. In this case we somehow passed any number of appropriate sanctions, instead landing fixedly on termination.
The UK cheer investigation in question did not uncover cheating.
It did not uncover abuse.
It did not uncover hazing.
It did uncover Jomo Thompson as a coach who holds his athletes accountable for every facet of their University responsibilities and beyond. A coach who has touched the lives of thousands. A coach who created a culture of compassion, dedication, hard work, respect and absolute responsibility.
Why were Jomo and his staff so easily disposed of? I have several theories, each more disgusting than the last. Did Jomo Thompson lose his job because the cheerleading team does not produce revenue for the University? People adding to the bottom line do not simply get fired as first recourse. Perhaps the university was fearful of some Larry Nassar-like situation in the future. Absurd. Is there an athlete(s) behind these accusations who have a personal vendetta against Jomo? These conclusions I’ve only surmised are shamefully inadequate. Please excuse me if I seem brazenly incredulous. I just don’t understand.
Something is clearly amiss and the investigation was a feeble attempt at understanding the University of Kentucky Cheerleading program. Jomo is a figure of rectitude and he was reduced to an expendable cheerleading coach. To say the University has fallen short is an understatement.
I implore the University of Kentucky to critically review the decision to terminate Jomo Thompson and ask themselves the question: Would this be the outcome if the accused was John Calipari and the members of the university basketball team?
Kara Frair is the mother of a 2 year old and the Program Director at Infinity Cheer and Tumbling in Wesltake, OH.