I absolutely understand why a grown woman would want to be a cheerleader for an NFL team.
They were cheerleaders in high school and college and just want to keep shaking those pompoms.
They’re dancers and want to high-kick in front of 75,000 fans.
It’s a good way to work out.
They get the camaraderie that comes with being part of any group.
They get to build their network.
They get to watch football games for free.
Even if there are rules against fraternizing, you might get to go out with the football hero.
That said, if ask to pick from a list of any 100 vocations or avocations, for me, cheerleader would be in the lowest decile, if not rock bottom. Even if I were young, lithe, gorgeous, energetic and had whatever the 21st century equivalent of Farrah Fawcett hair is, cheerleading is not how I’d want to spend my time.
There’s just so much exploitation and just plain ickiness about it, with plenty of stories out there about terrible pay, poor working conditions, and arbitrary rules.
And then there’s the recently-emerged story about how the Washington Redskins cheerleaders were treated back in 2013 when they were flown to Costa Rica for a calendar photo shoot.
Bad enough, that:
…Redskins officials collected their passports upon arrival at the resort, depriving them of their official identification.
But:
For the photo shoot, at the adults-only Occidental Grand Papagayo resort on Culebra Bay, some of the cheerleaders said they were required to be topless, though the photographs used for the calendar would not show nudity. Others wore nothing but body paint. Given the resort’s secluded setting, such revealing poses would not have been a concern for the women — except that the Redskins had invited spectators. (Source: NY Times)
I’m sure that your cigar will just fly out of you now-gaping mouth when you learn that these charming and wholesome spectators were “a contingent of sponsors and FedExField suite holders — all men.”
The close-up access afforded these guys had a two-fold purpose. One was just a good, old-fashioned salacious ogle on the beech. The other was to let the fellows decide which nine of the 36 cheerleaders would get invited to act as personal escorts for a nightclub outing with some of the sponsors.
Their participation did not involve sex, the cheerleaders said, but they felt as if the arrangement amounted to “pimping us out.” What bothered them was their team director’s demand that they go as sex symbols to please male sponsors, which they did not believe should be a part of their job.
The “job” – the trip to Costa Rica for the photo shoot - by the way, paid nothing. The cheerleaders had their airfare, meals, and hotel covered. But other than that, nada.
Their treatment has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks since two former N.F.L. cheerleaders filed discrimination complaints and described a hostile work environment in which they were often dangled as sex objects for the titillation of male fans away from the games. Interviews with dozens of current and former N.F.L. cheerleaders revealed a common perspective:
They enjoyed performing at games, developing friendships with other cheerleaders and participating in charity work, which included visiting hospitals and going overseas to entertain military troops. But they were disturbed by some of the extracurricular requirements that put them in what they considered unsafe situations.
It goes without saying that the Redskins (and the female director of their cheerleading squad) have a different perspective on the Costa Rica event. But I’m not sure I’d take the word of a team that refuses to acknowledge that there are at ton of folks out there who believe that their team name is a racial slur. And it sure doesn’t sound like the cheerleaders are making stuff like the:
…2012 team-bonding party…a wild gathering, where men shot liquor into the cheerleaders’ mouths with turkey basters. Below the deck, men handed out cash prizes in twerking contests. No cheerleaders claimed that they were touched inappropriately, and the two team captains said the trip was pleasant
One added, “They were all adults and got out of the experience what they wanted to get out of it.” One cheerleader a few years later was told what to expect at the annual affair. “I’d been given a heads-up that we were going on this particular man’s yacht and that he had a lot of money — and that you could make a lot of money there if you wanted,” one cheerleader said, referring to the prize money in the dance contests. “But that was not for me, and lots of us felt the same way. But we were too scared to complain. We felt that our place on the team would be compromised if we did.”
Maybe the cheerleaders will just have to make an individual pro-con decision:
“You kept telling yourself that it was going to get better,” one of those women said. “But it never got better. Finally, I had to admit to myself, this is not what I thought it would be.”
Remember, two of the most beautiful words in the English language are “I” and “quit.”
But maybe the sisterhood of the sis-boom-bah should think about organizing. Lock arms, sisters, and get it in writing that you won’t put up with crap. Demand better compensation. This would be risky. There may be plenty of other women ready to take their place who don’t mind twerking for a bunch of old geezers. But it seems to this old lady sitting on the sidelines that a bit of solidarity might be worth a shot.
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