Buffalo Bills cheerleaders suspend activities after lawsuit: Report

Fans might not see the Jills cheerleaders on the sidelines when the Buffalo Bills take the field for their first home game of the season Sept. 14.

The cheerleaders' organization has suspended all activities until further notice, after five former Jills filed a civil lawsuit complaining they worked hundreds of hours for free, experienced sexual harassment and were subjected to demeaning "jiggle tests" to examine their body conditioning.

Stephanie Mateczun, president of Stejon Productions Corp., which manages the cheerleaders, said she has no idea how long the suspension will last.

“When the time is right, I will be making a statement,” she said in an email to The Buffalo News.

The suspension affects 35 young women who recently were selected for the 2014 cheerleading squad.

The civil action was filed in state Supreme Court and seeks unspecified back pay and legal fees. It names Stejon Productions Corp., the Bills, and the Jills' former manager, Citadel Communications Co., as defendants. Stejon took over managing the cheerleaders in 2011.

The cheerleaders' legal team cited a shocking handbook that reads like a finishing school guide for Victorian girls advising the Bills cheerleaders on how to wash their private parts and what kind of tampons to use.

The jaw-dropping rule book was sent to Deadspin by the firm representing the five former Jills and outlines exactly what it means to be a Jill.

The unintentionally funny Jill Cheerleaders Code Of Conduct instructs the women on how to keep certain "intimate areas" fresh, offering advice such as "When menstruating, use a product that (sic) right for your menstrual flow."

Covering all conceivable bases about the cheerleaders and their bodies, the "General hygiene & lady body maintenance" section of the book states that "A tampon too big can irritate and develop fungus."