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."

Former Bills cheerleaders file lawsuit for wages and exploitive 'jiggle tests': Report

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."