Two freshman girls on the Warren Central High School majorette team in Indianapolis are recovering from serious injuries after their parents say they were forced to perform bear crawls on blazing hot asphalt during practice.
According to their families, the grueling drill left both students with second-degree burns and large blisters on their hands.
Travis Peagler, whose 14-year-old daughter Trinity was among the injured, told local outlets that he was stunned when he picked her up from school on September 18 and saw the damage. “Her hands, she had huge blisters, burns, you know, like you tear off like a piece of rubber on something. Her thumbs, the skin on her thumbs was rolled up,” he told The Indianapolis Star.
Trinity explained that she had been ordered to do the bear crawls because of her grades. With temperatures hovering near 90 degrees that day, her parents say the asphalt track must have been even hotter. “What made you think that that was okay… when it had to be at least over 100 degrees on the track?” her mother Stacey asked during an interview with WTHR.
The injuries were so severe that Trinity needed hospital treatment, and her parents say recovery could take up to six months. “This isn’t discipline. It’s child abuse,” Travis told WXIN. “These are young girls. They’re not training to be a Navy SEAL or Army Ranger.”
Another mother, Ronnisha Banks, said her daughter also suffered burns from the same practice. Banks shared photos of her daughter’s blistered hands and said the injuries have already affected her schoolwork.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police confirmed that an incident report was filed and that the investigation remains active. Warren Township Schools acknowledged the situation in a statement, saying: “We are aware of an incident during last week’s dance team practice involving a conditioning drill on the track that resulted in several students sustaining blisters to their hands from the surface. We are taking this matter very seriously, conducting an active investigation, and remain in close contact with students and families to support their recovery.”
The school district added that the safety and well-being of student-athletes “will always be our top priority.”
Banks has also contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services, though the agency said it cannot confirm or comment on any active cases.
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Wh
The one who ordered them to do this shoulg be fired and never allowed to work with children again. This is child abuse and those responsible should be charged with such as well as the school department should be made to pay for any and all help these girls need in their recovery. Maybe then the school officials will stand firm on their statements.