Cheerleaders – Ft McMurray's Homepage

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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On Wednesday, The New York Times released a detailed and scathing report alleging the Washington Redskins sent its cheerleading squad to Costa Rica, only to then confiscate their passports and put their safety at risk during a 2013 photoshoot.

According to five Redskins cheerleaders who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity, the team sent the squad to Costa Rica for its yearly calendar shoot. There, the women explained that a photoshoot took place at the adults-only Occidental Grand Papagayo resort on Culebra Bay where some of the women were allegedly required to be topless, while others wore nothing but body paint. While many assumed the shoot would be private, they apparently learned upon arrival that several high-level male sponsors were invited to watch.

“At one of my friend’s shoots, we were basically standing around her like a human barricade because she was basically naked, so we could keep the guys from seeing her,” one of the cheerleaders told the Times. “I was getting so angry that the guys on the trip were skeezing around in the background.”

Following the shoot, the women said that nine of their cheerleading teammates were told they had a “special assignment,” which was to escort those sponsors to an area nightclub.

“They weren’t putting a gun to our heads,” one of the cheerleaders told the Times, “but it was mandatory for us to go. We weren’t asked, we were told. Other girls were devastated because we knew exactly what she was doing.”

While the night did not involve sex, the women claimed it was tantamount to “pimping us out.”

“It’s just not right to send cheerleaders out with strange men when some of the girls clearly don’t want to go,” one cheerleader who attended the trip told the Times. “But unfortunately, I feel like it won’t change until something terrible happens, like a girl is assaulted in some way, or raped. I think teams will start paying attention to this only when it’s too late.”

Stephanie Jojokian, the director and choreographer for the Redskins’ cheerleaders, denied the claims made by the women in the report. According to the Times, Jojokian choked up when asked about the allegations and said, “It breaks my heart because I’m a mom and I’ve done this for a long time. Where is this coming from? I would never put a woman in a situation like that. I actually mentor these women to be strong and to speak up, and it kills me to hear that.”

In an additional statement provided to the Times, a spokesperson for The Redskins said, “The Redskins’ cheerleader program is one of the NFL’s premier teams in participation, professionalism, and community service. Each Redskin cheerleader is contractually protected to ensure a safe and constructive environment. The work our cheerleaders do in our community, visiting our troops abroad, and supporting our team on the field is something the Redskins organization and our fans take great pride in.”

Though the Redskins deny the allegations, several of the women told the Times that the trip was so damaging they chose not to return to the squad the next season.

“You kept telling yourself that it was going to get better,” one woman said. “But it never got better. Finally, I had to admit to myself, this is not what I thought it would be.”

The Redskins isn’t the only team facing serious allegations for its alleged treatment of cheerleaders. In early April, Kristan Ware, who spent three seasons as a Miami Dolphins cheerleader, filed a complaint against both the league and the team claiming she was discriminated against based on her religion and gender. According to Ware’s complaint, she was specifically told by two team coaches in an annual work review not to discuss her virginity.

“You have taken something that was once upon a time pure and beautiful and you’ve made it dirty,” Ware claims Dolphins cheerleading director Dorie Grogan said.

Additionally, in April, Bailey Davis, a former New Orleans Saints cheerleader, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against both the NFL and the Saints, claiming she was unfairly fired over “blatantly discriminatory” social media and fraternization policies that she says are different for cheerleaders than they are for the male players.

“The players have the freedom to post whatever they want to on social media,” Davis explained to NPR after she was fired for posting an image of herself in lingerie on her personal Instagram account. “They can promote themselves, but we can’t post anything on our social media about being a Saintsation. We can’t have it in our profile picture, we can’t use our last name for media, we can’t promote ourselves, but the players don’t have the same restrictions.”

Both cases are still pending, though both women have offered to settle with the NFL for $1 each if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and league lawyers would agree to a meeting. “This was never about money for me,” Davis told ABC News. “This is about having respect for our sport and standing up for our sport and standing up for women.”

The NFL provided this official statement to The New York Times: “Everyone who works in the NF., including cheerleaders, has the right to work in a positive and respectful environment that is free from any and all forms of harassment and discrimination and fully complies with state and federal laws. Our office will work with our clubs in sharing best practices and employment-related processes that will support club cheerleading squads within an appropriate and supportive workplace.”

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