Cheerleader ‘Too Chunky’ To Cheer Writes Blogger
Last month, a sports blogger garnered heaps of attention after questioning whether an Oklahoma City Thunder cheerleader was quote “too chunky” to cheer in the NBA.
According to UPI, CBS Houston blogger Claire Crawford targeted Kelsey Williams’ weight on the court during the first round of the playoffs.
Crawford called Williams’ a “pretty blonde” but said she had “pudginess around her waistline”.
“The Rockets looked terrible in Game 1, but some say they weren’t the only bad-looking people on the court,” Crawford allegedly wrote in a post that has since been deleted, according to ABC News. There are still cached versions available online.
“We’re not trying to be ugly. We are just discussing what men like in women, specifically NBA cheerleaders,” the post went on.
She also wrote if Williams is comfortable, then “good for her” and that “not every man likes a woman to be toothpick skinny”.
A poll was attached to her column asking readers their opinions on Williams’ physique. Many people quickly criticized Crawford for her commentary.
“Voters could choose from three options. Either they thought Williams had “the perfect look to be an NBA cheerleader,” “she could use some tightening up in her midsection,” or “she has no business wearing that outfit in front of people,”” noted ABC News.
Backlash from the “mean girls” post came swiftly.
“It’s articles like this that lead young women and girls to anorexia and bulimia,” one reader wrote, according to the Daily News. Other commenters reportedly called for the blogger to be fired.
“You are beautiful and perfect the way you are,” wrote one fan on Sunday.
Williams’ responded on Twitter, saying “we wouldn’t know what blessings were if we didn’t go through trials.”
This week, speaking with ABC’s Good Morning America, Williams says she’s never been more heartbroken in her life.
Fighting back tears, Kelsey, who says she’s a size 4, explains how nervous she was to get back into her cheerleader outfit after the story went viral, because she never meant to be more than a Thunder Girl.
“I got online and was reading the article and… my heart sank. I was definitely embarrassed and just devastated,” she says, adding that she was never slim like a dancer / ballerina but rather of a more athletic build.
She couldn’t believe a woman would write such nasty things about another woman but, strangely, she says she didn’t want the female blogger fired.
“Shame on you. I mean, you are a woman… you know exactly what we all go through on a daily basis just being a woman. Shame on you,” Kelsey says.
According to the Houston Chronicle, “Claire Crawford” is the pseudonym used by a woman named Anna-Megan Raley, who mostly writes relationship columns for CBS Houston. Jezebel pointed to her Twitter handle, JustDareClaire, an account that has since been deleted.
CBS Houston has since removed the post from its website, but a cached version of the page is still available online.
The Thunder are currently facing the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and the Thunder now lead the Rockets in the series with two big wins,
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 Williams (@KelseyBWilliams) April 25, 2013
CBS blogger criticized for calling NBA cheerleader ‘too chunky’
http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/04/28/CBS-blogger-criticized-for-calling-NBA-cheerleader-too-chunky/4561367191163/
Houston blogger bashes Thunder cheerleader, angers Internet
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-blogger-bashes-Thunder-cheerleader-4464084.php
NBA Cheerleader ‘Too Chunky’? CBS Houston Blogger Sparks Outrage For Questioning Kelsey Williams’ Figure (PHOTO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/28/nba-cheerleader-too-chunky-cbs-houston-blogger-kelsey-williams_n_3175121.html?utm_hp_ref=sports
