I really wish I was making this stuff up.  Once again, we’ve got a blogger (female this time) spilling “ink” in a very public forum about the shape of the body of a professional cheerleader.  It seems that CBS Houston Blogger Claire Crawford recently felt the need to criticize the body of NBA cheerleader Kelsey Williams.

Crawford reportedly said in the blog:

The Rockets looked terrible in Game 1, but some say they weren’t the only bad-looking people on the court…

This pretty blonde has been criticized by some folks in OKC for having “pudginess” around her waistline. We’re not trying to be ugly. We are just discussing what men like in women, specifically NBA cheerleaders.

Crawford apparently also said in the blog:

But if she’s comfortable wearing that tiny outfit and dancing for NBA fans, then good for her.  Besides … not every man likes women to be toothpick skinny. I’d say most men prefer a little extra meat on her bones.

(Insert facepalm here along with slow sad headshake.)  To add insult to injury, a poll was posted at the bottom allowing the public to “weigh in” on whether or not they thought Williams was “too chunky” to be a NBA cheerleader.  Reportedly the available options were:

1. “the perfect look to be an NBA cheerleader,”
2. “she could use some tightening up in her midsection”
3. “she has no business wearing that outfit in front of people.”

Which begs the question of what other options might have been made available.  Some suggestions include:

1. Are  you f$%*ing kidding me?
2. Just how desperate are you to up your “hit count”?
3. Is it possible to be a total misogynist and a woman?
4. This blogger has no business writing for a major news outlet or anywhere else for that matter.

In other news that came some distance towards restoring my hope in humanity, it seems that many, many people agreed with point number 4 and caused an uproar around the blog post and the blogger.  Some suggested that both Crawford and her overseeing editor be fired.

You gotta wonder how the conversation between Crawford and her overseeing editor might have sounded:

Yay!  We stirred up nasty, offensive controversy on our blog.  Wow people are really worked up, will ya look at that hit count?  Oh, oh.  Now they are calling for our heads and asking for us to be fired.  Better fix it.  Blog post?  WHAT blog post?  I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Yup.  Shortly after the proverbial poop hit the propeller the blog post was taken down.  Not only that, but all other posts by Crawford were removed from the site as well.  According to the Daily Mail, Crawford has since deleted her Twitter, Linkedin, and Myspace accounts. At first I thought, “serves her right.  Maybe we won’t have to hear any more nonsense from her for a while.” Except, well, not really.  Lost Ogle suggests that Claire Crawford is really just a pen name for CBS Digital Content Manager Anna-Megan Raley.  So it’s quite possible that “Claire” and her “managing editor” were having a conversation in Anna-Megan Raley’s head (since they are possibly the very same person).

Well, isn’t that convenient?  What a great technique!  First create disposable online “characters”.  Next have them say offensive things likely to stir up lots of noise.  Finally, when things get too hot, just “fire” the pretend person and remove all evidence of them from your site.

Honestly, I debated about even writing this blog post.  You know the number one rule on the internet is, “don’t feed the trolls”.  But at least this post is not in any way linked to anything likely to give more traffic to CBS.  But I ask you my dear readers, do you think it’s a sign of progress that so many of us have a fit when we read a post like the one by the alleged Ms. Crawford? And by being upset, are we just playing into the hands of the media outlets who publish this bile, or using a public forum to fight body shaming.  I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Love,

The Fat Chick