Whether cheerleading is a sport is a subject that has been debated and will be debated for a long time. However, one thing can’t be refuted, professional cheerleading for a professional sports team is a job. They are required by their employer to do tasks and they get paid. But, under further review, it is revealed that not only are these women underpaid- they are hardly paid at all.
On Jan 22, an Oakland Raiders cheerleader filed a suit on the behalf of herself and 40 other cheerleaders. She filed class action to the labor department because she believed that the Raiders were not paying them well enough. Lacy T, who she is called in the suit, believed that they were breaking the federal government’s $7.25-an-hour minimum wage law and other labor laws.
According to the suit, the cheerleaders are only paid about $1,250 per season or about $5 per hour. Minimum wage in California is $8 per hour. Upon further research, it was revealed that the trend of underpaying cheerleaders is spread across the board.
According to the website for the San Diego Charger cheerleading squad, they are only paid $75 for each home game but will receive “compensation for select paid appearances.” Along with that, they are forced to pay fines if they bring the wrong mat to practice or forget their pom-poms.
The case for the cheerleaders is strong. While people may believe that they are there simply for ornamental purposes, they are still employees of these professional sports brands. The problem that they have run into is the fact that they have signed a contract, allowing themselves to be paid that little. The Charger website even lays out the fact that they will be required to have another job because being on the squad won’t pay the bills.
Because the cheerleaders aren’t known by their name, they are simply a face in a uniform, replacing the unhappy ones is easy. When one leaves, there is a line of 100 people right behind her. There is no Peyton Manning of cheerleading. If Peyton Manning left, people would notice and fight for him to get what he wants. But, if Lacy C. leaves, no one cares.
With the outrage, what can these girls do? They all need to strike. They need to show the teams that they will be missed. The problem with that is, however, that you don’t need the cheerleaders to play the game. A few of the teams don’t have cheerleaders. Out of the 32 in the league, seven NFL teams do not have a cheerleading squad. These teams are New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Cleveland Browns.
The cheerleaders need to find a way to make themselves needed in order to get the pay that they deserve. We can talk all day about how unfair it is that they aren’t getting paid. But, when they aren’t a requirement, it won’t matter if they are gone. While people do enjoy seeing them cheer, they don’t go to the games to watch the cheerleaders. They go to watch the football players or basketball players.
The best thing these cheerleaders can do is to cause a ruckus. If they can’t convince team owners that they deserve more pay. If they lose the lawsuits, they need to get the public on their side. Peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.
Though, part of me wishes that they would go on strike. They would have the best chants. “2-4-6-8! Who do they appreciate? Noooot Us!”