Five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders are suing the NFL team in New York Supreme Court for unspecified damages, claiming they weren't paid for their time at games or mandatory public appearances that left them open to groping and sexual comments.
Two members of the Buffalo Jills squad held a news conference Tuesday with their attorney, Frank Dolce, explaining how they were each exploited out of "840 hours of work" and subjected to harassment, such as being told to sit of men's laps and being subjected to a "jiggle test," reported WIVB.
The women say they were wrongly classified as independent contractors by Stejon Productions, which manages the Jills and failed to pay them for hundreds of hours of work during 2012 and 2013 season.
"We had always dreamed since we were little girls of becoming Buffalo Jills cheerleaders and unfortunately it was anything but a good experience," said former Jills cheerleader Alyssa U.
"[They made us do] everything from standing in front of us with a clipboard and having us do a jiggle test to see what parts of our body were jiggling and if that was something she saw, then you weren’t performing at all."
The five women claim other degrading behavior included being forced to wear a bikini and then go into a dunk tank, being auctioned off like prizes, and "the Jills were forced to sit on participants" laps because there was not enough seats in the golf carts.
The lawsuit is the third filed this year against a National Football League team by its cheerleaders.
The Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals also have pending wage battles.
The Buffalo plaintiffs claim that they did not receive compensation for working at Bills games. Instead, they received a $90 game ticket and a parking pass.
They also claim that no compensation was paid for practice time.
"We were the laughing stock of NFL cheerleaders," Alyssa U said.
The Bills said they were aware of the lawsuit and would not comment on "pending litigation."
Teams are really pathetic with how these very hard working employees are treated ,wages or no wages with all the hours are put in.Billions made by NFL and these a-&^$% owners won't share a fair wage.Roger Goodell what kind of pathetic person are you to let teams do this severe unfair labor to employees that do work in community for what???
ReplyDeleteonly one side of the story though...
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show how much money NFL owners make. They function on a salary cap and aren't allowed to pay players more than their cap without paying luxury taxes. Meaning the owners get to keep a lot of money that should be spent otherwise. Then you hear this, they don't even pay the cheerleaders who work hard and are subject to demeaning behavior...how pathetic. Baseball has it right, no salary cap so you can put the money on the field and into your organization instead of sitting on mounds of cash. I'm sensing unionization of cheerleaders in the near future.
ReplyDelete- will soon be no team with cheerleders
ReplyDeleteExactly. Don't see cheerleaders at baseball games. Just fans. These girls knew what they were getting into. The smart ones use the position as a stepping stone to their future. Several Saints cheerleaders have successful and respected dance schools and such. These cheerleaders need to wake up. Cheerleading is not a profession.
DeleteMaybe if they ever allow football to be played again, it might be worthwhile to watch.
DeleteSad, but in some ways - what did they expect? Parade around like a whore and you'll be treated like one. I think cheerleaders are a non essential to NFL football anymore. Their 'uniforms' have gotten out of hand. Might as well be watching a Victoria Secret show.
Delete"We had always dreamed since we were little girls of becoming Buffalo Jills cheerleaders and unfortunately it was anything but a good experience," said former Jills cheerleader Alyssa U.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should set your goals a bit higher, like to become a teacher or waitress.
just to lay the groundwork, I am a 50 year old married heterosexual male. How about that they just wanted to have fun as cheerleaders? Chances are they were cheerleaders in high school too. Forced to be groped and sit on strange men's laps isn't degrading? A ticket to get into the game and free parking is compensation? wow! I am surprised that they didn't demand that they pay for entrance. What a ridiculous neanderthal statement ".. you should have set your goals higher!" You idiot. How would you like your daughter to be subjected to the same treatment. I suppose you would accept date rape as her fault. No big deal.. right? And you slam teachers!? What is your occupation? My guess is idiot unemployed... or is it single bus boy? I sincerely doubt you have the mental ability to obtain any four year degree, which is required to be a teacher.
ReplyDeletewhy now?
ReplyDeleteNo one can argue those ladies weren't paid appropriately. However, they were told what their job descriptions & compensation would be before they started. filing suit after the fact is plain wrong. But, needless lawsuits, in hopes of gaining a settlement of some sort, has become the American way.
ReplyDeleteIf you are told what your duties and compensation are before you start a job how can you sue? If you find out something about your job that you do not like and continue in that job, how can you sue? We should be looking for the person or persons that held a gun to their heads and forced these jobs on them.
DeleteI'm on board that they should be paid fairly for each and every hour worked. Practice, promotions, games, etc. I also don't agree with the way they the crowd to cheer for anything or anyone.than just that. From grammar school all the way to the professional level the cheerleaders are the cute, hot girls. Not the plain Jane girls, not the chubby girls, not the wallflower girls. On the professional level, what good are the cheerleaders? 60-120,000 people in the stands. Not a lot of chances for them to be able to lead
ReplyDeleteNo one made these ladies apply for this job. I'm also surprised that the free publicity to further their real goals in life such as a role in a movie, other modeling opportunities etc. wasnt mentioned. Cmon follow the money the lawyers know the NFL has deep pockets so lets use this as an opportunity to steal some.
ReplyDelete