NFL cheerleaders told The New York Times in an exclusive report released Tuesday that harassment and groping by fans was a required silent part of the job that they deal with on a regular basis.
The Times interviewed mostly NFL cheerleaders, but also members of cheer squads from the NBA and NHL as well for its report. The members described what the newspaper called a systematic exploitation by teams that profit by sending them into pregame tailgating and other gatherings where they were subjected to sexual comments and unwanted touches by fans.
"When you have on a push-up bra and a fringed skirt, it can sometimes, unfortunately, feel like it comes with the territory," Labriah Lee Holt, a former cheerleader for the NFL Tennessee Titans, told The Times.
"I never experienced anything where someone on the professional staff or the team said something or made me feel that way. But you definitely experience that when you encounter people who have been drinking beer," Holt added.
The cheerleaders claimed to the newspaper that teams are aware of what they encounter, but do little to stop the abuse while mingling with fans at games and promotional events.
One Dallas Cowboys cheerleader said she remembered a time where her team walked by a group of Philadelphia Eagles fans during a home game.
"We were walking by, waving and smiling, and one guy caught my eye," the cheerleader told the Times. "He looked at me and said, 'I hope you get raped!' That's the kind of stuff we'd have yelled at us. Even from our fans, once they get drunk, they yell things, and you're like, 'Really?' It's part of the job. It comes with it. You're supposed to take it."
The Dallas cheerleader claimed to the newspaper that she and many others are forced to sign nondisclosure agreements when they join the team. The cheerleader said that the Cowboys address harassment and inappropriate touching issues in training and give out handbooks on how to handle such situations, per The Times.
"We were told what to say, like, 'That's not very nice,' To be sweet, not rude," the Dallas cheerleader told The Times. "Say, 'Can I ask you to step over here?' Use body language to help deter the situation. Never be mean. Never. Always courteous. Because if it's not for the fans, we wouldn't be here — that's how we were supposed to think of this."
The newspaper said the Cowboys and the Titans did not respond for comments and the NFL did not address specific incidents.
"The NFL and all NFL member clubs support fair employment practices. Employees and associates of the NFL have the right to work in a positive and respectful environment that is free from any and all forms of harassment," an NFL spokesman told The Times.
A group of former NFL cheerleaders filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the league, last year, charging that the teams conspired to underpay them and prevented them to negotiating better deals, ABC News reported. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, involves cheerleaders of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, the network stated.
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