- 14 minutes ago
On this episode of Shady, Lexy goes behind the scenes of professional cheerleading to learn more about how these women are treated on and off the field.
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00:00Anyone can learn to move, right?
00:01Like when you're walking, you can lift up that knee and point that toe.
00:04You know, make it sassy, yes! Like, sassy!
00:07Sassy!
00:09Lexi's got sass! Lexi's all sass!
00:11This is Kristen Ann Ware.
00:14Sassy! I'm whipping it! Sassy!
00:17She knew joining the Miami Dolphins meant having the perfect hair, body, and smile.
00:23Three, one, yes!
00:25But she wasn't prepared for what else she'd have to face.
00:28They say you're only special in the uniform.
00:31Your opinion doesn't matter. Your voice doesn't matter.
00:34You're here to perform and that's it.
00:36They intimidate you into silence.
00:40But, I mean, you want to be a cheerleader.
00:42It's the best job in the world.
00:50Cheerleading. An iconic American pastime.
00:53Some love it.
00:54Others think it's an image-obsessed, second-rate sport.
01:00It's a topic far removed from my day-to-day as Refinery29's senior beauty editor.
01:05But growing up as a soccer player, they were always on the periphery.
01:10What I looked like on the field never mattered.
01:13But I'm here today to learn how in cheerleading, it can mean the difference of whether or not you make
01:19the team.
01:20So there's a big difference in this. It's pretty.
01:24Sideline Prep is a pro-cheer consulting company.
01:27And Janine Samuels is its leader.
01:29Right? So, thank you.
01:32Teaching the tricks of the trade from her 11-year run as a professional cheerleader.
01:37What's most important, definitely nutrition and fitness.
01:40And then just don't sleep on the importance of your appearance.
01:44But when did appearance become so important to pro-cheer?
01:49Cheerleading in the early 1900s was a male-only activity at elite Ivy League schools.
01:56During World War II, women took over when men left to fight, stepping it up with gymnastics and acrobatics.
02:03It was in the 1970s that Dallas Cowboys owner Tex Schramm saw a lucrative opportunity to boost ticket sales by
02:12making cheerleading all about sex appeal.
02:16Skin-tight outfits, suggestive dance moves, and a beauty queen look became a must.
02:22Today, professional cheer is as much about image as it is about dance.
02:29For these women, it's all part of the game.
02:32Here we go. Tear it up.
02:34Just as important as putting in long hours at the gym and mastering moves.
02:39We worked so hard for years just for one audition.
02:45It's about the experience. It's about the sisterhood.
02:48I love the glam.
02:50I love the feeling of putting on my makeup and getting my hair done and going to go dance and
02:56seeing myself in the mirror.
02:57I just love it.
02:59Here we go.
03:00From their moves to their makeup, every last detail is considered.
03:06Whatever it takes to land a coveted spot on a team of their dreams.
03:10Women want to become professional cheerleaders to basically extend their life of a passion that they already have.
03:17Professional level is the next step for them.
03:21Yay! That looks so good!
03:25But recent headlines are shining new light onto this dream, revealing just how vulnerable it is to exploitation.
03:33A new lawsuit against the Raiders.
03:36Two Raiderettes say they were humiliated and groped.
03:39They're not even paid for quite a bit of the work that they do.
03:42An entire reform on how professional cheerleaders are treated is long overdue.
03:48So, she and her lawyer are calling on the NFL to do more to protect cheerleaders.
03:58Kristen Ann Ware is currently filing a claim against the NFL and her former Miami Dolphins cheer team for discrimination
04:05based on her gender and religious beliefs.
04:08She says that once her team discovered her vowed to wait for marriage, her coaches started singling her out and
04:15attacking her.
04:16It all came to a head in her third season interview.
04:19Usually the interviews, they talk about your dance technique, you know, how you are on choreography, what they expect of
04:27you, things like that.
04:28And nothing of my job was talked about during that interview.
04:33And I went in and I sat down and the first thing the director mentioned was, let's talk about your
04:38vow to wait for marriage.
04:40And I was, I don't know, I remember the feeling of sitting there, kind of like my palms start to
04:48sweat, you know, like your kneecaps start to shake, your heart's pounding because something in me told me like this
04:55isn't right.
04:56What happened after your interview?
04:58They asked me to change into a bikini to see if I was calendar ready, which was usual.
05:03Like it was never a problem before, but just the fact that I felt like I was attacked for something
05:11so personal and so valuable to me and to then have to change into a bikini and stand in front
05:17of them.
05:19I mean, it took a piece of me.
05:21And I remember looking in the mirror and just saying, Kristen, you can leave.
05:28You can walk out right now.
05:30And I didn't.
05:32Kristen Ann was used to being critiqued on her appearance.
05:35It was part of the job.
05:37For her, what crossed the line was feeling disrespected and degraded.
05:43And she's not alone.
05:45This kind of treatment is pervasive across the country.
05:50Bailey Davis, a former New Orleans sensation, says she was kicked off the team for an Instagram photo deemed too
05:57sexy.
05:59Members of the 2013 Washington Redskins cheer team reported being forced to pose topless at a photo shoot while male
06:07sponsors watched.
06:10And former Houston Texans cheerleader Gabriela Davis alleges that she and her teammates were called crack whores and jelly bellies.
06:19I have not spoken to a cheerleader, not one, where they didn't tell me that they were told all the
06:27time that they are not special, that they are just a girl in a uniform and there's a million girls
06:32that would take their place.
06:34Sarah Blackwell is a lawyer representing Kristen Ann along with several other former pro cheerleaders who are taking on the
06:40NFL.
06:41It sounds to me like they just want to completely control them.
06:45They have a lot of control over these women and the way they get it is by belittling them and
06:50making them feel worthless.
06:51You are told that you are only here to be seen and never heard. Your opinion doesn't matter, your voice
06:56doesn't matter, you're completely replaceable.
06:59Why would they say things like that?
07:01I think it's the ownership and the control that they want to have over you.
07:05Not only when you're in the uniform and you're at your job, but when you're away from it.
07:09Sarah gave me access to some of the cheerleaders handbooks and rules.
07:13I saw guidelines for everything. Love life, social media, and appearance.
07:24The rules for dealing with players reveal a clear double standard.
07:29Cheerleaders are told to avoid players at all costs.
07:35But the players are free to do what they want.
07:38This is extreme gender discrimination, and the players can go anywhere they want.
07:43They can text the cheerleaders, they can call the cheerleaders, they can follow the cheerleaders on social media.
07:48But if the cheerleaders even accept their request, they can be immediately terminated.
07:54They say it's for the girls' protection, which is sad because we're not in the 1950s here.
08:00Perhaps the best indicator of how they're valued is how much they're paid.
08:04I used to be a Cincinnati Bengal, but I was paid more being a dancing cupcake than an NFL cheerleader.
08:14It didn't take long for Alexa Brenneman, now Westendorf, a two-season NFL cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals,
08:22to realize she was being taken advantage of.
08:25You're expected to pay for your nails, you're expected to pay for your hair,
08:29you're going to have to have a gym membership, stay in shape.
08:33But we were paid around $100 per game.
08:37I added up our practices, our trainings, our appearances, our events,
08:43and then divided those hours, and it's less than $3 an hour.
08:48Alexa filed a lawsuit against the Cincinnati Bengals, and in 2015,
08:53the team finally agreed to back pay and to raise salaries to meet minimum wage.
08:59As these lawsuits come about, women are starting to be paid minimum wage, and things are starting to change.
09:06Alexa's case shows that it's possible to take on the NFL and win.
09:11Still, there's a long way to go.
09:14Today, what cheerleaders are paid is less than the players,
09:18and in many cases, less than the mascots, less than the concession stand workers.
09:25I was curious to know what Janine Samuels, as a professional cheer veteran, thought of everything I'd learned.
09:33A lot of cheerleaders that we've spoken to have said one of the things that kept them quiet
09:38was this idea of, you're easily replaceable.
09:43The concept of feeling as though you are easily replaceable is valid, I think, for a pro cheer.
09:53It's also valid as a reporter, as an anchor, but I think that it's less of a fear and just
10:01part of reality.
10:02And I would hope that women don't allow that reality to hinder them speaking up and voicing concerns or problems
10:14that they may encounter.
10:20Cheerleading has been my life. As a child, it was my outlet.
10:23We're in it because we love it, because we're dancers and we love the sisterhood.
10:28There are so many younger girls that look up to me.
10:32I just want to set the tone for them and show them that this is an attainable dream for them.
10:37While some have used the lawsuits as part of a bigger argument to end pro cheerleading,
10:42the women leading the charge see an opportunity for something else,
10:46a chance to be included in the conversation.
10:50I'm just speaking out to make a positive difference for the NFL, not to bash the NFL.
10:56What it's going to take is a team of women that are going to stand up together and say,
11:01we're not going to tolerate this any longer.
11:04What do you hope happens with the NFL?
11:06They need to say, I hear you, to the cheerleaders, and that we're going to take effective and real steps
11:15to make this a very professional and lawful environment.
11:20And if their voices are heard, it could transform the sport into something that's truly worth cheering for.
11:28We want to see you, to the further that we have heard this year.
11:42Please check us Upon a larger tone for the NFL.