Cheerleader injured after being forced into painful splits

  • 25/08/2017

Warning: This video contains images which may disturb some people.

A video has emerged that appears to show a young cheerleader in the US being forced to perform a painful exercise.

The video shows 13-year-old Ally Wakefield screaming in agony while her teammates hold her down and their coach pushes her leg down to do the splits.

She begged nine times in less than 24 seconds for them to stop.

Ally's mother, Kirsten, said when she first saw the video, she was horrified.

"My daughter showed it to me while I was driving, I almost hit a car and ran off the road."

The team's coach didn't respond to a request from CBS News but told a local newspaper the videos were taken out of context and insisted this was normal training for splits. 

He and other school administrators in Denver, Colorado have been suspended.

Ally's muscle tissue and ligaments were teared and her hamstring was pulled. She is now under the care of a physical therapist.

The incident was in June, but the videos only surfaced last night.

The Denver Police Department is investigating the incident and others involving Ally's fellow cheerleaders.

Families met with police late on Thursday afternoon (local time) in what may become a criminal investigation.

Newshub.