SHOCKING CLAIMS

Coach From Netflix’s ‘Cheer’ Sued in Sex Abuse Cover-Up Case

A Navarro College cheerleader alleges Monica Aldama encouraged her to be quiet after she was assaulted by a teammate.

Monica Aldama, the fan-favorite coach who appeared in two seasons of Netflix’s Cheer, has been named in a lawsuit filed by a cheerleader who claims the 51-year-old encouraged her to stay quiet after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a teammate. Madi Lane, who has identified herself in the suit obtained by The Daily Beast, named Aldama, athletics director Michael Landers, and coordinator Elizabeth Pillans in the filing. She alleges in the suit that Navarro College fostered “a campus condition rife with sexual assault and lacking the basic standards of support for victims as required by state and federal law.” Lane alleged in her lawsuit that in the early hours of Sept. 2, 2021 she woke up in her bed to find male cheerleader Salvatore “Salvo” Amico on top of her, alleging he pulled up her shirt, groped her, then took her underwear off and assaulted her. She says in the lawsuit that Aldama told her, “If you keep quiet, I’ll make sure you can cheer anywhere you want.” Lane enrolled at a different university but said she feels “blackballed” from cheerleading. Amico has not been criminally charged. Neither Aldama nor Navarro College has responded yet to the lawsuit.