Cheerleader gone bad

By Catherine Kast. June 17, am Updated February 2, pm. Now, Wilkins, whose career ended in August , is suing the Cowboys organization for lost wages. Earlier this month, five former Houston Texans cheerleaders sued that team for failing to compensate them fully and for creating a hostile work environment. My goal is to help other cheerleaders, and women as a whole.

Cheerleaders for professional sports teams are often dancers with backgrounds in ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop and tap. After beating out dozens of other dancers for the job, they have a chance to show off the athletic and dancing skills they have honed for years. But they quickly learn that performing at sporting events is only a small part of their job description. They are also required to fulfill what often is the unsavory side of the job: interacting with fans at games and other promotional events, where groping and sexual harassment are common. In interviews with dozens of current and former cheerleaders — most from the N. But you definitely experience that when you encounter people who have been drinking beer. Team officials are aware of the situation, the cheerleaders said, but do little to prevent harassment.

Gabriella Davis, 20, first started cheerleading in middle school in Dallas, Texas; around the same time, she became infatuated with those high priestesses of spirit fingers, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Davis cheered in high school, and in the national, competitive All-Star league, and in two years of college at Texas State University. Everything happens for a reason, she believes: Davis made the team. Last week, five former Houston Texans cheerleaders filed a federal sex discrimination lawsuit against the team, alleging they were paid less than minimum wage and not adequately protected from fans groping them and making suggestive comments.

There were satisfying moments: working hard with a team, learning gymnastic skills and dance moves. But mostly, I remember standing on the sidelines of big football games, cheering for players. I also recall a fair amount of girl drama over cheers, stunts, uniforms, dance moves, and just about any other thing you can imagine cheerleaders might argue about. As a young woman not taught to recognize inequality, sexism , and sexual exploitation, I initially wanted to be a cheerleader because it filled a desire for attention and adoration.