TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Mitch Tilmon wanted to be a Florida State Seminole cheerleader. That was his goal, and that dream was achieved this summer.

"I really love games," he said of his favorite thing he gets to do as a member of the cheer squad. "Experiencing the crowd and getting everyone hyped up, it's so much fun."

For his teammates, Tilmon was the perfect addition to the sidelines.

"He always has a smile on his face no matter what happened during his day," said senior Katie Barnette.

"He's an amazing tumbler," added Staci Sutton. "He's doing more elite skills than most people on this team."

Tilmon was born with amniotic band syndrome, a genetic condition that results in deformities of the limbs, but he's never let it hold him back.

"When I was growing up, like, I didn't really see anyone like me," said Tilmon. "So, it was never really, like. I never saw someone that I could look up to and be like, 'OK, if they're doing it, then I can do it.' I really had that drive, and I was like, 'Can I do this?' And like, it just, it feels really good to like be in the spot where I am in now."
The rest is history.

"The first time I ever stunted with him, I like kind of felt bad asking," said Barnette. "I was like, 'Do I need to change anything?' And he was like, 'No, just do the same thing.' I was like, 'OK.'"

"And it hit, it was crazy. I don't think about it as like, oh, I have one arm, like I need to like do this a certain way. I'm like, 'OK, how am I going to overcome this and just be like everyone else and just be like a normal athlete,'" said Tilmon.

"He never asks to be switched out of anything. It's just incredible," added Sutton. "He's an inspiration to the coaching staff as well as the entire team,"

Sutton said she didn't initially see Tilmon's audition tape, as she never received it.

Tilmon used his never-quit attitude and called her up, and she said that as soon as she saw him tumbling, it was an easy decision to add him to the squad.

Alison Posey initially published this story at WTXL.

Two male cheerleaders featured on the show “Cheer” on Netflix were arrested this week, reports USA Today, facing accusations of sexual misconduct involving minors. This is in addition to the show’s breakout star Jerry Harris, who was arrested last fall.

Robert Joseph Scianna Jr. is a coach and choreographer on the show. He was arrested Wednesday near Richmond, Virginia. Police charged him with with felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and using an electronic communication device to solicit sex, according to local media.

Police say he met a boy through social media and arranged to meet the minor with the intention of sexual relations, WRIC reports.

Mitchell Ryan is a member of the Navarro College cheer team featured in the Netflix show. He was arrested this week in Dallas County, Texas. USA Today reports Ryan is charged with felony aggravated sexual assault of a child in connection with an incident from July 2020.

Harris was arrested about five months ago and is accused of soliciting nude photographs from minors, in addition to other accusations.

DENVER, Colo. – With the world stuck inside for weeks, some people are now stepping out and cheering on in a fight against an invisible killer – COVID-19.

“We’re all getting together and we’re all going to whoop it up a little bit and cheer them on,” said a Denver man from the balcony of his high-rise apartment.

The “them” the man is referring to are first responders, heroes he says are worth celebrating.

At Brooks Tower, downtown Denver’s oldest high rise, Kim Dozier is leading her neighbors as they cheer from their balconies for medical workers on the frontlines.

“Pass the love,” Dozier said. “There’s nothing else that matters right now.”

Acts like this are happening across the country

Whether praying from a hospital parking lot in Nashville, Tennessee or dancing in their driveways in Buffalo, New York – people caught in this pandemic are escaping from self-quarantine for a few minutes each night by gathering from a safe distance and howling as the coronavirus takes control of our lives.

Our news team obtained cell phone video from New York City’s Lower East Side, a hot spot for deaths linked to the virus.

The video shows proud New Yorkers hooting and hollering from their rooftops and balconies.

The excitement might make some forget the make-shift morgues now lining the city streets.

COVID-19 is has already killed thousands of people across the world – with health experts predicting many more deaths to pile up before this global pandemic ends.

But whether in New York or the oldest high rise in Denver, Colorado, Americans are making social distancing seem not that far away while making the world feel a little closer during this crisis.