Photo: Facebook
She says it is "unfair" to other teammates and the coach.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Mar 01, 2023
A woman from Michigan is being grilled by other parents on social media — and rightfully so — for commenting on a six-year-old cheerleader.
She claims that the little girl is “bringing the squad down” by being a part of her school’s cheerleading team all because she has down syndrome.
Mindy Tyler argued that the little girl with down syndrome shouldn't be on her school's cheerleading team
The woman took to Facebook to spew her hateful rhetoric surrounding special needs children, and others were quick to call her out on it before deleting her post.
TikTok user @mama.b.energy, who is a former cheerleader herself and the mother of a special needs child, slammed Tyler in a video where she also sheds light on her personal life that makes the story all the more heartbreaking.
“I want you to take a look at these beautiful girls that are in this photo,” the woman says, displaying an image of a group of six-year-old cheerleaders proudly wearing their uniforms.
She points out one particular little girl standing in the front named Kinsley Brink.
“[Kinsley] happens to be a six-year-old cheerleader with the rest of her team, doing what little kids do,” she points out.
Little Kinsley also happens to have down syndrome, which means she was born with “a little extra love” in her chromosome 21, as the woman notes.
She then displays a photo of a woman who looks to be in her early 30s, referring to her as a “dragon’s a–-.”
Taking to Facebook, Tyler posted a series of harsh statements about the young girl.
Tyler shared her vile thoughts in a lengthy Facebook post.
“Just wondering what makes a cheerleader,” Tyler wrote, adding that she was a cheerleader herself while she was in school and went on to coach cheerleading for 10 years.
“I know exactly what makes a cheerleader a cheerleader,” she claims. “For one, you have to be able to speak to say the cheers…for two you have to be able to do all the movements with all the other girls…you have to have a memory and comprehension to even know what the next cheer is… you have to be able to follow directions so that you know when to stand there and be quiet…”
She appeared to be inferring that because Kinsley had down syndrome, she would be unable to perform her duties as a cheerleader — a statement that is not accurate.
“A skirt and a bow doesn’t make you a cheerleader dumb f–ks,” Tyler adds.
The TikTok user who reposted Tyler’s harsh post took it upon herself to do some digging on the woman, and what she uncovered was shocking.
Tyler is also the girlfriend of Kinsley’s father.
In addition to being removed as a volunteer cheerleading coach at another school by the superintendent following the Facebook post, Tyler is dating Kinsley’s father.
“This is her [Kinsley’s] father’s girlfriend talking s–t about a child with down syndrome,” the woman points out, sharing a photo of Tyler with a man she says is Kinsley's dad.
“This is the girlfriend of the father of that child that she talked about!”
To make matters worse, Tyler defended her words instead of issuing an apology.
She blasted parents who put their special needs children into team sports.
“I’ll just say some people want their child to do certain things so bad that they’ll put these kids in these sports that they have absolutely no capability of doing just so they could say ‘my kid’s a cheerleader,'” she wrote in a follow-up comment.
“They don’t worry about the coaches that put in the work to have the team look good and be all together…they don’t think about the kids who work hard and are doing what they are supposed to do to look good only to not look good because these kids that don’t know what they’re doing are bringing the squad down.”
Tyler claims that it is “unfair” to the team and coaches if a special needs child is on the team, and calls for their parents to give them “the help they need” before getting them involved in sports.
Videos of children with down syndrome playing sports depict them as active and capable team members.
In response to Tyler’s post, TikTok user @thiphillips82 composed a series of clips of children with down syndrome participating in team sports.
One clip displays an adorable little girl taking her opponent down in a wrestling match. Another is a cheerleader like Kinsley, proudly pumping her arms and cheering along with her teammates.
“Mindy Tyler posted about her own boyfriend’s daughter Kinsley Brink who has Down Syndrome,” the video’s caption reads.
“From this video it looks like she's pretty capable of being a bada–-!!!! Let’s support Down Syndrome! Let’s support their passion for sports and their love.”
TikTok users sent their encouragement and love to Kinsley.
“Supporting little missy all the way from Scotland! She doesn't need Mindy, no one does....she's got TikTok on her side!” one user commented.
“This young lady is amazing and deserves the world,” another user wrote.
“Love this little girl! I’m a special education teacher to a high school cheerleader with down syndrome. You keep cheering and anything else you want, baby girl!” another user shared.
If anything, little Kinsley and other children with special needs involved in sports are proving Mindy Tyler wrong, demonstrating that they are hardworking, dedicated and more than capable team members.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.