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Utah cheerleading squad took two team photos: One with a student with Down syndrome, and one without. - The group used the one without 14-year-old Morgyn Arnold on social media and in its yearbook.
- Arnold's sister told The Salt Lake Tribune: "She knew what happened. She was sad, and she was hurt."
A cheerleading squad at a Utah school left out a student with Down syndrome from their yearbook photo.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the Shoreline Junior High cheerleading squad took a group photo with student Morgyn Arnold, 14, then took a second group photo without her.
The team went on to use the photo without Arnold in their yearbook and on social media.
See the two photos here:
-Courtney Tanner (@CourtneyLTanner) June 17, 2021
Jordyn Poll, Arnold's older sister, told The Tribune that Arnold was hurt when she saw the photo without her.
"Morgyn is very intelligent. She knew what happened. She was sad, and she was hurt," Poll said.
Poll said she believed her sister was left out because she had Down syndrome.
The school said on Facebook: "We are continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred. Apologies have been made to the family and we sincerely apologize to others impacted by this error. We will continue to address it with the parents of the student. We will continue to look at our processes to ensure this does not happen again."
Poll also said her family doesn't blame the other students.
"Morgyn could have chosen to be angry or upset, but instead she chose to be understanding, and forgiving," she said, NBC News reported. "Those girls on the team are her friends, and they've been incredibly supportive through all of this."