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Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders Sue Team Over Pay, 'Jiggle Test'

Buffalo Jills Facebook
April 24, 2014

Football has been going through an unprecedented upheaval. Northwestern’s football team will hold a vote tomorrow to decide whether it wants to unionize, a vote that continues to challenge the  meaning of "student athlete" and questions the entire college athletics infrastructure as we know it. Meanwhile the concussion and player safety debate continues to simmer, this week with a story about a NFL player suffering a stroke during a game last season that ended his career.

Meanwhile, another important constituency wages a lonely battle against the football power structure.

Buffalo Jills Facebook
Buffalo Jills Facebook

Per AP:

Five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders on Tuesday sued the team over a pay system they say had them working hundreds of hours for free at games and at mandatory public appearances at which they were subjected to groping and sexual comments, and one said they had to take a jiggle test so their boss could see how firm their bodies were.

According to the suit, New York’s minimum wage and workplace laws are not applicable since the Buffalo Jills are classified as independent contractors. That means the games, practices, and public appearances are mostly unpaid. The suit also says the women have to pay for uniforms, travel, and additional expenses all out of pocket.

This poor Buffalo Jill had to pay for that two-piece and scarf herself. As if cheerleading in upstate New York wasn't brutal enough.

Buffalo Jills Facebook
Buffalo Jills Facebook

More:

Their complaint describes "demeaning and degrading treatment," including being required to wear bikinis at various events such as an annual golf tournament at which cheerleaders were "auctioned off like prizes" and subjected to "degrading sexual comments and inappropriate touching."

Not to belittle these allegations, but a scantily-clad cheerleader would be the last person I'd want to caddy my golf clubs, considering the high likelihood of sunburn after walking 18 holes. Though, by the looks of this local Buffalo nighttime establishment, the Buffalo Jills are the only entertainment in town. These ladies are paraded about like a pig in front a pack of hyenas.

Buffalo Jills Facebook
Buffalo Jills Facebook

"Everything from standing in front of us with a clipboard having us do a jiggle test to see what parts of our body were jiggling," cheerleader Alyssa U. said, "and if that was something that she saw, you were getting benched."

I think it'd be important for the official court record to know what's the metric of measurement for a "jiggle test."

Buffalo Jills Facebook
Buffalo Jills Facebook

Whether the case reaches court, the Buffalo Jills hope that current and future cheerleaders receive better benefits.  In fact, the Jills are the third separate cheer squad to file a suit against their NFL team. Talk about team spirit!

This suit comes two months after a similar suit by Cincinatti Bungles cheerleader Alexa Brenneman, who's alleging that for over 300 hours of work, she was only paid $855. That would average to $2.85 an hour.

This is not Alexa.

Laura Vikmanis Facebook
Laura Vikmanis Facebook

Then there's the suit by Oakland Raiderettes.  The Raiderettes are claiming the Raaayyddduuzzzz paid a full season of work $1,250, which averages out to $5 an hour. This suit even prompted an investigation from the Labor Department.

AP
AP

For all of the rush to debate whether college players deserve a financial compensation (they do), who's looking out, rather than at, the cheerleaders?

Published under: Smokes , Sports