Charlie Kirk’s longtime mentor has died following a bizarre and tragic pickleball accident.




Jeff Webb, 76, died after falling while playing pickleball and suffering a severe head injury, Cheer Daily reported. The 76-year-old was hospitalized after the accident, and his family later decided to take him off life support.

Webb was an influential figure in the world of cheerleading, founding the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) and Varsity Spirit, and later led Varsity Brands, which grew into a multibillion‑dollar company. Decades before that he was a “yell leader,” or a spirit leader, at the University of Oklahoma.

He was also deeply involved in the conservative media world. Webb served as senior editor and co-publisher of the outlet Human Events. He also purchased the right-wing website The Post Millennial.

In his political work, Webb became an important early mentor to conservative activist and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed last year.

Webb stood with Kirk’s family at the White House when the late activist was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

After Kirk’s death, Webb told Real America’s Voice that the young activist “may well have been a future president.” He also said Kirk’s legacy was just beginning and that “tens of thousands of new chapters” of Turning Point USA were rising.