High school cheerleaders' 9/11 tribute called 'tasteless' for including news audio of the attack (VIDEO)

A Texas high school cheerleading squad's 9/11 tribute performance has created quite a stir after footage of the routine went viral.

The Lumberton High School cheerleading squad's routine was posted on the Internet on the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks as a show of respect for those who lost their lives.

And while some viewers have taken it in the spirit it was intended, according to BuzzFeed, others have called the performance — viewed more than 20 million times — "tasteless" and "cringeworthy." 

Omg, that 9/11 cheerleader video has to be the most cringeworthy thing I've seen in a long time. Get a clue.

— Jess Desserts (@thejessdesserts) September 13, 2015

The cheerleaders are seen performing their routine to God Bless the USA as audio from the first news reports of the attacks on that fateful day is played in the background.

The cheer also features audio of President Bush, speaking after the two hijacked passenger planes crashed into two World Trade Center towers in New York and another jet struck the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field the same morning.

In the video, the perky cheerleaders can be seen tumbling, flipping and throwing each other into the air before unfurling a US flag and spelling out the word 'USA' with tinsel.

Lumberton's cheerleading squads have performed a tribute routine every year since 2002 and take it "very seriously," their coach, Laura Sheffield said.

High school cheerleaders disciplined after chanting the N-word at football game: Report

A photo op for a group of North Carolina high school cheerleaders took an ugly turn after members of the squad were reportedly overheard chanting the N-word and flashing a hand sign representing the racial slur during a football game.

The Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, N.C., said it disciplined Millbrook High School cheerleaders after parents brought the incident to the attention of administrators, WTVD reported.

The photo, obtained by WTVD, shows the squad – which includes both white and black cheerleaders — wearing ribbons in their hair smiling in their blue and white outfits.

Parents said they heard the girls chanting “N---a Nation” while snapping Instagram photos and flashing what appeared to be gang-style signs, interlocking two hands in the sign of an "N" during a break at football game in September.

"It's unacceptable," Millbrook High parent Nora Flynn told WTVD. "It's not the diversity we teach in our household. It's not the language we use. I would be very upset if that showed up on (my daughter's) Twitter feed or whatever it is."

While the school said the issue was addressed, it did not reveal what discipline was handed down.

NY State declares competitive cheerleading an official sport: Report

New York State education officials voted Tuesday to recognize competitive cheerleading as an interscholastic sport, in an effort to improve safety and coaching standards.

The state Board of Regents voted unanimously in favor of the measure a day after it was approved by one of its committees.

All 17 of the Regents voted to authorize the change.

Now, starting with the winter athletic season, competitive cheerleading teams will be subject to safety requirements similar to other high school sports, like baseball or football. Those include certification requirements for coaches, mandatory rest days between competitions and limits on season length.

Right now, there are no limits on the length of seasons or required practice days.

“This is a great step for the progress of cheerleading, and tomorrow’s vote by the Board of Regents could be historical,” said Robert Zayas, president of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, which would implement coaching and safety standards.

Now that cheerleading will be recognized as a sport, the New York Public High School Athletic Association says it hopes to organize a full state cheerleading championship within the next two years.

The new regulations do not apply to traditional sideline cheering, according to the state Education Department. The change only applies to schools with teams that participate in cheerleading competitions.

The only question that remains is if the sport will still be called cheerleading.

Cheerleader sets Guinness record of 42 consecutive handsprings (VIDEO)

An Ohio cheerleader set a new Guinness record by completing 42 handsprings in-a-row this week. Cuyahoga Falls (Oh.) Walsh Jesuit High cheerleader Marie Klein completed the dizzying athletic endeavor during her school's game against Akron (Oh.) St Vincent-St. Mary School (LeBron's alma mater) to break the prior record of 36.

Klein’s feat spanned 70 yards — from one 15-yard line to the other — in approximately 30 seconds. Though the video below appears to show 40 handsprings, at least according to the count cheered out by the crowd on site, the school itself announced 42.

Either way, the  cheerleader's extreme feat is quite an accomplishment. I'm disoriented just watching the video.

Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders recruit Paris Jackson for squad

Paris Jackson could be the first cheerleader ever recruited straight from high school to the pros — unless there is an NFL rule against it.

After the daughter of the late pop star Michael Jackson posted some photos of herself cheering on her prep school's varsity basketball team last week, the pictures and a video have drawn some interest from the Philadelphia Eagles pep girls.

Footage of the LeBron James of pom poms caught the eye of the Eagles cheerleading honcho Barbara Zaun who thought the 14-year-old Paris had super potential, reports TMZ.

"We think Paris will make a great Eagle cheerleader!" said Zaun.

"We thought that she had a lot of poise, confidence, and enthusiasm in her cheer performance," Zaun says ... adding, "Paris has that 'wow factor' that makes a great cheerleader." 

The outgoing Paris — who seems to have taken her school spirit at The Buckley School to heart— posted a photo of herself on Twitter last week posing in the exclusive Los Angeles school's varsity cheer outfit and sporting a new short, black haircut.

Paris, who has aspirations on becoming film actress, might have to put the pro cheerleading gig on hold anyway because the ShEagles (TMZ's name) requires its 38 members to be at least 18 and have a high school diploma.

Still, when Paris is ready to cheer on the pros, Zaun says Philly will give her a shot.

"She is already very comfortable in the limelight, so we think she would definitely stand out and impress the judges ... We hope that she will try out for the team and be an Eagles cheerleader!"

Odds are she'll hold out for spot on the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad.