A Baltimore Ravens cheerleader was injured during a game Sunday, and was carted off the sideline in a stretcher after being stabilized by team medics. She was then transported to an area hospital.
The unidentified woman hit the turf hard after a botched aerial stunt, as the Ravens faced the Tennessee Titans. She was treated for head, neck and back injuries, and a spokesman for Baltimore said she was able to walk out of the hospital unassisted.
Cheerleading is a risky sport – Of the 2.9 million female high school athletes in the U.S., only three percent are cheerleaders, though account for 65% of all sports injuries.
The Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders team was founded in 1998, and has a co-ed squad, which is a bit unconventional. The 31 females on the team handle the dancing, and the males handle the stunts.
Notable former members of the Ravens team include WWE Diva and once George Clooney love interest Stacy Keibler, and Molly Shattuck, who was recently charged with raping a 15-year-old boy.
Shattuck, 47, who was once the oldest cheerleader in the NFL at age 38, posted an $84,000 bail Wednesday after being arrested on two counts of third-degree rape, four counts of unlawful sexual contact and three counts of providing alcohol to minors. The abuse began when Shattuck posted a compliment on the victim’s Instagram account.
People Magazine has obtained court documents revealing that Shattuck’s son, or someone posing as him, mailed the victim Shattucks’s phone number on Instagram, and wrote, “You should text my mom, she is obsessed with you.”
Police say the initial exchanges between Shattuck and the victim were very tame, though the tone changed after the sex incident at a Labor Day beach house party. Shattuck faces up to 25 years in prison.
Shattuck’s attorney Michelle Lipkowitz commented, “This is a difficult situation for everyone involved. That’s all we have today.”