Bears fans cyberbully former Packers cheerleader

(Video courtesy of YouTube)

A few Chicago Bears fans took their rivalry with the Green Bay Packers to a new low: They cyberbullied a former Packers' cheerleader. A picture of former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Packers cheerleader Kaitlyn Collins was posted on a Bears Facebook fan page this week and it got mean-spirited.

The photo of Collins drew more than 18,000 comments, and not all of them were tasteful. "Talk about an ugly cheerleader," one comment said, according to Fox 11. "Doesn't get any uglier, truly an eye sore," another comment read.

The caption with the Facebook photo said, "Like if you agree the Packers have the worst cheerleaders in the NFL."

"I was a little taken aback," Collins said. "I couldn't believe that some of those words were said and the way they were said."

It's worth noting that the Packers don't have their own cheerleading team. Instead, they use cheerleaders from UW-Green Bay and St. Norbert College. The photo of Collins posted on Facebook was from 2009, when Collins cheered for the Packers while attending UW-Green Bay as a student.

"A lot of the comments were hurtful," Collins said.

The Packers released a statement supporting Collins, calling the online remarks "extremely offensive."

To help raise awareness for others who have been a victim of cyberbullying, Collins made the YouTube video above that has more than 700,000 views. "My hope is that people will, if nothing else, take a second thought before typing those cruel words or saying cruel words to somebody," Collins said.

The picture of Collins was taken down Thursday and replaced with a status update that read, "The picture of the Green Bay Cheerleader has been removed. We do not condone or encourage bullying. We would like to ask that you keep it classy. We understand that you are hardcore fans, but there's no need for bullying."

Collins' reaction to the photo being removed?

"Definitely very happy about that," she said. "It could have been anybody, but it just so happens that it was me, and I'm the kind of person to not back down and to fight for what I believe in."

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