Mentor of Charlie Kirk Dies After Pickleball Fall

Jeff Webb, a towering figure in competitive cheerleading and an influential mentor on the right, has died at 76 after a pickleball accident. Webb, who founded Varsity Spirit and helped turn cheerleading into a global, highly organized sport, suffered a serious head injury in a fall while playing pickleball, according to an internal email from Varsity Spirit's president cited by Cheer Daily. He spent two weeks on life support before his family chose to withdraw it on Thursday, reports Complex.

Webb was also a close adviser to Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk, whom he met when Kirk was 24. "He had amazing drive," Webb had said of Kirk, per the New York Post. "I was overwhelmed with his maturity, his intelligence. He just had so many incredible leadership qualities." TPUSA described Webb on X as "a visionary" and "a dear friend." Webb had said after Kirk's assassination that "we may have lost a future president" and later attended Kirk's posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House. Varsity Brands called him a "pivotal" force in modern cheer and noted his role in helping the International Cheer Union secure full recognition from the International Olympic Committee in 2021.