Larry Brown Sports

Remember Susie Sanchez? Sure you do — she’s the 39-year-old woman who made the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad two years ago when she was 37. She also happens to be a mother of three and grandmother of one. That’s right, a grandmother was once an NFL cheerleader and recently went for it again.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Sanchez was one of over 400 women to try out for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad over the weekend. Of the hundreds, she was the only grandmother. She tried out for five years before finally becoming a Raiderette in 2011.

“The year I was on that team, some of the girls were born the year I graduated,” Sanchez explained. “If you look at the numbers, it’s ‘What am I doing?’”

Sanchez will turn 40 in August, and she says she felt like she had to give NFL cheerleading one last shot. Believe it or not, she was not the oldest person at the tryout, as one woman was 41.

“I thought why not?” Sanchez said. “I got to go to the big guys. I’ve got to go to the best team in the NFL.”

Of course, she means the best cheerleading team in the NFL. No offense to Tony Romo, but the Cowboys aren’t quite there yet. Unfortunately, Sanchez only got to audition in front of the judges for 90 seconds before being dropped during the first round of cuts. She said this will be her last year trying out.

As far as seeing a 39-year-old cheerleader at Cowboys tryouts is concerned, I doubt anyone was surprised. If you remember, we showed you another grandmother who tried out last year that was 16 years older than Sanchez. One of these nanas are bound to make the team eventually.

Earlier this week, CBS Houston writer Claire Crawford wrote a story that raised the question of whether or not one of the Oklahoma City Thunder dancers is “too chunky” to be a cheerleader. The entire story is posted above, and you can read it by clicking each section to enlarge the image.

“We are not trying to be ugly,” Crawford wrote. “We are just discussing what men like in women, specifically NBA cheerleaders.”

Even if men do prefer a specific body type when it comes to cheerleaders, embarrassing the young lady seems totally out of line. CBS Houston probably realized that, which is why the story has been pulled.

The story even ended with a poll question asking readers if they felt she was perfect for the job, could use some “tightening” up, or has “no business” wearing a cheerleading outfit in front of that many people.

Crawford’s real-life name reportedly is Anna-Megan Raley. Her Twitter accounts under her pseudonym and real name have been deleted, and an archive of her posts on CBS Houston have been wiped out for the most part.

The cheerleader who was targeted by the attack, Kelsey Williams, responded to the criticism over Twitter:

“To be womanly always, discouraged never”

— Kelsey Self Williams (@KelseyBWilliams) April 24, 2013

We wouldn’t know what blessings were if we didn’t go through trials. Thank you to EVERYONE for the compassion and love today. I’m in awe.

— Kelsey Self Williams (@KelseyBWilliams) April 25, 2013

Just a couple months ago, we learned the story of a Green Bay Packers cheerleader who took a stand against cyber bullying after reading all the nasty things that were written about her on Facebook. Fans are always going to be ruthless, but there’s no excuse for the media to perpetuate stereotypes and basically highlight a cheerleader who some may consider to not fit the “cheerleading prototype.” I don’t see how anyone thought this article was worth posting.

David A. Chatman, a 38-year-old cheerleading coach from Corvallis, Oregon, has been accused of raping a 17-year-old high school cheerleader while she was unconscious under the influence of prescription medication. According to KVAL.com, Chatman faces charges of first degree rape and second degree sex abuse by a coach.

The incident reportedly occurred in September of 2012 but was brought to the attention of authorities when the girl’s mother contacted the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office last month. The alleged victim claims she went to Corvallis to visit Chatman, who had coached her at cheerleading school, when she was raped.

Investigators say the girl claimed she took a prescription medication that knocks her out before going to bed and awoke to find Chatman on top of her.

“He was raping me,” she said according to court documents.

The girl has given the underwear she was wearing at the time to police and a crime lab analysis is underway. Chatman was arrested after being interviewed, but has pleaded not guilty to charges against him. He claims he thought the girl was 19 and that the sex was consensual.

But that’s not all. Chatman was apparently a registered sex offender to begin with, stemming from an incident in 2007 involving a 16-year-old cheerleader. He was convicted in federal court of touching the girl on an airplane while she was sleeping. It’s probably going to be difficult for him to build a case in this instance with a prior incident like that hanging over his head.

An Atlanta Hawks cheerleader was taken off the court in a stretcher Monday after slipping and falling during a dance routine.

The cheerleader was hurt between the third and fourth quarter of the Hawks-Dallas Mavericks game at Phillips Arena.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the cheerleader was taken by paramedics to a hospital to undergo tests and that she never lost consciousness despite appearing to hit her head. Hawks reporter Chris Vivlamore later said the cheerleader was treated and released.

The cheerleader, identified as Kristen, has an identical sister Kirsten who is also a cheerleader for the team. Below you can see a picture of the two of them together:

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Courtney Lenz is a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader, but she is not welcome at the Super Bowl despite her team being one of the two that is playing for a championship. On Wednesday evening, Lenz sat down for an interview on “Access Hollywood” and explained why she has been barred from the big game. She says that it ultimately has to do with her weight.

“They said that I had quote, unquote, a rough year,” Lenz said, via the Chicago Tribune. “I’d been benched earlier in the season for a little bit of a weight gain. We do get weighed every week during the season, and you can’t fluctuate at all. I gained, I think it was 1.8 pounds. I had been consistent and they let me cheer previously and then I gained 1.8 or 1.6 pounds and they said because I had gained weight and they wanted me to be consistent or they wanted me to lose, they benched me for a game and because it was a disciplinary action, that was the reason.”

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Two Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders agreed to have their heads shaved during Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills to pay off a fund raising agreement made with the team’s mascot, Blue.

Colts cheerleader Megan agreed two weeks ago to shave her head during the game if $10,000 were raised for leukemia research. The challenge was part of the ongoing “ChuckStrong” movement the Colts have initiated in support of coach Chuck Pagano, who was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this season. Megan and Blue teamed up to raise $22,670, which meant she had to live up to her end of the agreement on Sunday.

Cheerleader Crystal Anne joined Megan in having her head shaved. The two were seated on the field and had clippers taken to their heads to shave off their locks late in the game.

Here’s what they looked like after having their heads shaved:

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There was a delay in the second quarter of the Orlando Magic-New York Knicks game on Tuesday after a Magic stunt team member fell and hit her head on the court.

The performer, whose name is Jamie Woode, was treated by paramedics in the arena and taken away on a stretcher. She was waving to the crowd as she was being taken away, and she received a standing ovation from both teams.

The Magic released a statement later in the game and said Woode, a former UCF cheerleader, was being transferred to Orlando Regional Hospital. The team says she is breathing on her own and moving her extremities. As of Wednesday, Woode had three fractured vertebrae and a broken rib, but no neurological damage.

Below is a video of her getting treated:

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