Staten Island girl with autism kicked off Catholic school cheerleading team; coach says she might "drag team down"

From the Staten Island Advance:

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Joanna Petosa (pictured) loves cheerleading: For the past two years, the Grant City 8-year-old with shining eyes and a wide smile has been an enthusiastic member of the St. Christopher's cheerleading squad.

But after this year's round of tryouts, Joanna's mother received a harsh message from the coach -- if Joanna remained on the team, she would drag the other girls down.

"She (the coach) said they had come to the conclusion that she didn't have the mental capacity to do the stunts," Sally Petosa said. "All she talks about is cheerleading. And now, am I going to break her heart because they're worried about a $3 trophy?"

At issue is Joanna's autism. Even though the PS 54 third-grader always pulls As in her classes and can perform all of the cheerleading stunts with precision, Mrs. Petosa said the parish often doubts her abilities.

She said last year, after parents expressed concerns Joanna wouldn't be able to keep up, she agreed to keep her daughter on the younger girls' team, despite the fact that she towered over them in size.

"I didn't want to make an issue of it," she said, adding she explained the situation to her daughter by saying she was helping the younger kids. "Her disability is she is a little immature for her age. She is very trusting and loving and not jaded. She is a nice little girl."

She was told this year Joanna would be able to join the girls in her age group and even handed in her $60 deposit. That is, until the offer was reneged and the check returned to her.

Parish officials would not speak with the Advance, instead referring all questions to the Archdiocese of New York.

Fran Davies, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese, denied that the coach called out Joanna's diagnosis. She even said Joanna was still welcome to cheerlead, but that she didn't make it onto the school's new competitive team for second- through eighth-graders.

Instead, while 16 girls would cheer at basketball games and participate in tournaments for awards, Joanna and five other girls who did not make it onto the competitive team would cheer just at basketball games.

"She has done very well," Ms. Davies said. "Everyone loves having her, and they would still love to have her on the team."

Mrs. Petosa, a longtime parishioner of St. Christopher, whose family has deep roots in the church, said she is stung by the decision, especially since her daughter is capable of performing all of the tricks and is even ahead of many girls her age. She said her daughter wants to compete and that there's no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to.

"They lost a parishioner, and what they're doing is not very Christ-like," Mrs. Petosa said, fighting back tears.

Last weekend, Joanna tried out for -- and was accepted onto -- Island Xplosion, an all-stars, community cheerleading team.

"She got on the floor and stretched with the other girls and did all the tumbles, cartwheels and roundoffs," said the coach, James DeFranco. "She even learned a whole routine and a jump sequence, while she was here. She did anything any other girl did. She was even quicker than some of them."

Joe Panepinto, the director of Staten Island Catholic Charities, who has overseen the annual CYO competition for 31 years, said he was angered that St. Christopher's wouldn't give Joanna a chance.

"It's more about the journey than the destination, and if all you're talking about is putting together a team that can win, then you're not really in it for all the right reasons," he said.

Panepinto added that he was appalled to hear from Mrs. Petosa that Joanna's autism was considered a problem for the parish.

"We are all for inclusion and I think it was absolutely wonderful Joanna was on the team," he said. "If the coach asked for her to be removed, shame on her. It's so anti everything we stand for, it turns my stomach."