OCEANSIDE — An Oceanside mother is pressing Pop Warner leaders for answers, saying her daughter was expelled from the cheerleading team after she asked for copies of the girl’s injury reports.
Tori Lara began raising concerns earlier this fall about several injuries her daughter sustained during the cheerleading season. In October, Lara requested copies of the injury reports she said the organization was required to keep, but received no response, she said.
Lara said she was subsequently suspended from attending cheerleading events after she began emailing the organization’s executive board about the reports.
In an Oct. 27 email to Andrew Tapuloa, president of the Oceanside Pop Warner board of directors, Lara asked to meet the following day to discuss her suspension, her daughter’s injuries and the related documentation.
“These concerns began with simple questions about athlete safety that were repeatedly dismissed,” Lara said.
In a statement, the board said it suspended Lara from events because she “failed to comply with the terms and expectations outlined in the agreement she signed.” The board also removed Lara from the team’s communication app.
Lara told The Coast News she was told she had been suspended because she “threatened and intimidated cheerleaders,” but was given no evidence to support the accusation.
The meeting did not take place. The executive board asked Lara to meet that Tuesday because a pep rally was scheduled for Wednesday. Lara said the message arrived too late for her to attend and accused the board of deliberately giving her short notice to keep her from meeting with them.
With her concerns unresolved, Lara said she attended the pep rally despite her suspension because she was worried about her daughter’s safety.
Lara accused a board member of making “unwanted physical contact” with her while trying to escort her from the premises.
“We strongly dispute this allegation and consider it false and unfounded,” the executive board told The Coast News in a Nov. 2 email.
The board said a member approached Lara and asked her to leave. The board also asked the Oceanside Police Department to remove her but withdrew the request to “avoid further disruption and prevent the situation from negatively affecting the athletes and families in attendance.”
The board said it and the cheerleading staff had been in contact with Lara throughout the season about her concerns over the injury reports.
“Oceanside Pop Warner made multiple attempts to arrange a meeting with Ms. Lara to review the documentation and address her concerns directly. Unfortunately, those meeting opportunities were not finalized due to her scheduling conflicts and her unavailability,” the board said in its statement. “We have remained willing to meet and address these matters appropriately.”
“Disciplinary actions involving parents are handled separately from an athlete’s participation whenever possible,” the board added.
The board confirmed that Pop Warner had kept records of Lara’s daughter’s injuries. Lara said she still had not received copies as of Nov. 9.
Lara also said her daughter was expelled from the team as of Nov. 3. The board declined to confirm whether she had been expelled.
“Out of respect for the privacy and dignity of every individual involved in our organization, OPW does not publicly discuss matters concerning past, present or future members, including student-athletes, parents, coaches, volunteers and families,” the board said.
Lara said she is still seeking copies of the injury reports and an explanation for her daughter’s removal from the team. She said other mothers have shared concerns with her but fear retaliation if they speak out.
“We all have different issues that have happened, but it all comes down to people not being accountable and not sticking to the bylaws and protocol they’re supposed to, and not communicating,” she said. “I think the more moms who speak up, the more we’re on the right track.”
