East St. Louis cheerleading team shut down for season after fight

East St. Louis High School has shut down the cheerleading team for the rest of the season after a fight Saturday. The East St. Louis Sr. High School cheerleading team was performing “dueling routines“ against the team from Trinity Catholic High School during the Alton Shootout at Alton High School. Suddenly, the two sides started to fight. The incident was caught on camera. “We expect our teams to conduct themselves in a manner that will protect the safety of athletes, officials, coaches and spectators at sporting events,“ East St. Louis Superintendent Arthur R. Culver said in a statement. “We regret that our cheerleading team did not conduct themselves in a manner commensurate with these expectations. After a thorough investigation, consequences were administered which resulted in the immediate conclusion of the cheerleading season for this school year. We will not lower our expectations and will consistently take strong action when safety and sportsmanship is compromised.” The Archdiocese of St. Louis released the following statement regarding Trinity Catholic: “The Archdiocese of St Louis is aware of the altercation. This incident does not align with the mission of the school and church teaching. We are confident school leadership is taking the necessary steps to make sure something like this will never happen again.” This is the same gym where a basketball game between Alton and Riverview Gardens ended in a brawl in November of 2018. Five people were charged with crimes in connection with that fight. Story: