Why should she have to cave in and give up what she wanted to do because someone else assaulted her?
Did you read the full article? She was a mouthpiece for the school team.
If the boy assaulted her, he should have been in jail, I agree. However, being on the cheerleader squad is a voluntary activity, not a right. She was unfortunately placed in a position where she had to make a decision about what was more important to her - showing her feelings about the boy or being on the cheerleading squad. But it was her decision. Whether the boy should have still been on the basketball team is not relevant to the principle in this case, which is when you voluntarily agree to represent an organization, whether you are a cheerleader or the employee of a business, the organization has a right to dictate how you represent them. If you don’t like it, or feel you can’t represent them in that way, then you have the option to quit. Instead, she chose to sue over a “right” that didn’t exist - the “right” to stay on the cheerleading squad while determining for herself when and for whom she would cheer. The courts rightly determined that such a “right” does not exist, and that she cost the school district money on a frivolous lawsuit.