In case you missed it, earlier today this news outlet filed an expansive, exclusive report detailing allegations contained in the latest Cheer Incorporated lawsuit – which was filed in U.S. district court in Memphis, Tennessee. To view that article, click here …
Since the article posted, our news outlet has received numerous responses from individuals and entities named as defendants in the sweeping complaint.
As I promised in reporting on the lawsuit, “as we receive responses (from these named defendants), the story will be updated.”
So here goes …
First and foremost, as of this writing FITSNews has not received a response from 22-year-old Dominick “Nick” Frizzell, the former University of Tennessee (UT) cheerleader whose alleged conduct was at the heart of the new federal complaint.
While Frizzell did not respond, the UT athletics department did address the allegations against him.
According to the school, Frizzell was suspended from UT’s cheer team on September 16 – and was “formally dismissed” earlier today.
“Nick Frizzell joined the University of Tennessee spirit program for the 2022-23 academic year,” UT associate athletics director Tom Satkowiak said in a statement. “He was suspended from participation in all spirit activities on September 16 and was formally dismissed from the program on September 27.”
Tennessee-based businessman named Jeff Webb – the man accused of being a ringleader of the alleged conspiracy – also responded.
An Oklahoma native, Webb is the founder and former owner of Varsity – a Memphis-based company that’s made billions of dollars selling cheerleading apparel and organizing cheerleading and dance camps/ competitions across the country.
Webb has already responded to allegations leveled in a South Carolina-based lawsuit which laid the groundwork for many of the conspiracy allegations contained in the Tennessee complaint.
“As he emphasized in his previous statement, Mr. Webb finds any sexual abuse abhorrent and heartbreaking, and he supports a full and thorough investigation of any such allegations,” the statement began. “He fully stands with all survivors.”
“The latest lawsuit does nothing more than copy the previous inaccurate facts and preposterous allegations regarding Mr. Webb” the statement from Webb continued. “As we have previously stated, there is no basis whatsoever to allege that Mr. Webb was involved in any conspiracy or misconduct.”
Finally, Premier Athletics – a Knoxville, Tennessee-based company with locations in the Volunteer State, Kentucky and Michigan – issued a statement through its attorney, Chad Hatmaker.
According to the statement (.pdf), Premier was “inaccurately implicated in a press conference regarding a lawsuit” – one which allegedly contained “many inaccuracies and false statements.”
“First, the company that owns Premier Knoxville did not own any gyms until August 6, 2021,” the statement noted. “All of the allegations in the complaint prior to that date do not pertain to Premier Knoxville’s current ownership.”
“Second, on June 26, 2022, Susan Traylor of Premier Knoxville was told by an athlete that he had received photographs from a coach, Nick Frizzell, that were inappropriate,” the statement continued. “No copies or screenshots of the photographs were provided to substantiate this claim, and this was the first time Ms. Traylor or Premier Knoxville had received reports about this alleged misconduct. Premier Knoxville promptly suspended Mr. Frizzell and immediately reported the athlete’s claim to local law enforcement as well as the USASF. Local law enforcement did not substantiate the complaint, nor did USASF. Premier Knoxville terminated Mr. Frizzell’s employment.”
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“Third, on September 18, 2022, the Knoxville West location was informed by an athlete that a different athlete, whom we believe to be John Doe 1, had a ‘physical relationship’ with Mr. Frizzell,” the statement went on to note. “John Doe 1 never reported this to Premier Knoxville, nor did his mother or any of his representatives. Premier Knoxville immediately reported this new claim to local law enforcement and also filed a report with USASF that same day. After reporting the matter to law enforcement Premier Knoxville did not have any contact with the alleged victim or his family so as not to be falsely accused of interfering with law enforcement’s investigation.”
John Doe may have never reported it, but other athletes and parents did.
“One thing that is accurate in the lawsuit filed is the admission that John Doe 2 never told Premier Knoxville of his allegations,” the statement added. “The majority of those allegations occurred from 2018 through 2021, prior to the current owner purchasing Premier Knoxville.”
The statement concluded by noting that “the health and safety of athletes that train at its facilities is extremely important to Premier Knoxville” and that the company has “taken all of the appropriate and required steps based on the reports it received.”
As Premier defended its record and touted the “appropriate and required” responses it took to the allegations against Frizzell, this news outlet obtained images and videos of the suspended/ terminated coach working out at Premier’s facilities as recently as a month ago.
We also obtained messages in which Frizzell claimed that the gym was not going to “fire him” over the allegations – messages purportedly sent after he was supposed to have been “terminated” from his position.
Stay tuned … this news outlet is committed to allowing all individuals associated with this unfolding saga to be heard on our platform (especially those who have survived abuse). Having said that, we are also committed to holding all responses to this story up for further scrutiny – assessing how well these accounts align with the facts as we are able to uncover them.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. And yes, he has many hats – including that St. Louis Cardinals’ lid (with matching Stan Musial jersey) pictured above.
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