Five More Former NFL Cheerleaders Are Suing the Houston Texans
On Friday, five former NFL cheerleaders filed a lawsuit against the Houston Texans franchise, alleging they hadn’t fully been compensated for work and had also been subjected “to a hostile work environment in which they were harassed and intimidated,” according to the New York Times.
Per the Times, the former cheerleaders’ lawsuit alleges they’d been paid less than the $7.25/hour they were meant to receive; that the cheerleaders weren’t compensated for public appearances or other job-related tasks; and that the work environment was such that “the women were threatened with being fired for voicing any complaints.” The Times also reports their lawsuit is seeking “unspecified damages.”
“I and my fellow cheerleaders were treated as the lowest of the low,” Hannah Turnbrow, one of the former Texans cheerleaders filing the lawsuit, told the Times. “The Houston Texans were paid thousands of dollars to have us show up at appearances at locations all over Texas with no security, no transportation, and where our safety was not guaranteed.”
“These women all had the same dream: They all aspired to be an integral part of the Houston Texans. And they looked forward to promoting the team,” celebrated women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred explained during a press conference. “But their dreams were shattered by the reality of their lives as Houston Texans cheerleaders.”
According to CBS, Allred alleges that the former NFL cheerleaders were paid “so little or not paid at all” because of their gender.
“Surely [Houston Texans owner Bob] McNair and the Houston Texans can find it in their budget of hundreds of millions of dollars to pay these women a fair wage, not minimum wage,” stated Allred. “Pay these women what they deserve and make sure you pay them for every minute that they work.”
In a brief statement reported by the Times, Texans spokeswoman Amy Palcic said the team is “constantly evaluating its cheerleader program and makes changes ‘as needed to make the program enjoyable for everyone.'”
This is the second such lawsuit this year filed by former cheerleaders against the Houston Texans. On May 22, the New York Times reported that a former cheerleader had filed a lawsuit against the franchise and its cheerleading director. According to the Times, the former cheerleader, who is named in the lawsuit only by her initials, P.G.G., also alleges that cheerleaders weren’t compensated properly, including working unpaid overtime—and, reported the Times, that the director “verbally harassed them and did nothing to safeguard them from abusive fans.” As of May 22, P.G.G. wanted her case to be certified as a class-action lawsuit, reports the Times, with two cheerleaders “standing by to join as plaintiffs” and another four asking P.G.G.’s lawyer if they could join the lawsuit.
In response, Palcic emailed the Times a similar statement: “We are constantly evaluating our procedures and will continue to make adjustments as needed to make the program enjoyable for everyone.”
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