For the third time in a year, an NFL cheerleading squad is suing their employer for violating labor laws and inappropriate conduct, among other things. In a lawsuit, the Buffalo Jills have accused the organization of subjecting them to “jiggle tests” and teaching them how to wash their “intimate areas. REMINDER: This is 2014.
Here are some details of the lawsuit obtained by Deadspin.
66. The extensive rulebook set forth by defendants includes, inter alia, rules on how much bread to eat at a formal dinner, how to properly eat soup, how much to tip restaurant waiters, wedding etiquette, how to properly wash “intimate areas,” and how often to change tampons.
62. In addition, the Jills were subjected to weekly “physique evaluations” during which defendants’ representatives tested the Jills’ bodies for “jiggling.” During the “Jiggle Test” defendants scrutinized the women’s stomach, arms, legs, hips, and butt while she does jumping jacks. The physique evaluations largely determine whether or not any particular Jill would be allowed to perform at the Bills’ next home game. Jills that failed to meet defendants’ physical standards received warnings, and in some cases were penalized, suspended or dismissed.
Sounds degrading to say the least. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Jills also allege mistreatment bordering on sexual harrassment at a golf outing.
While the focus of the lawsuit is the defendants’ failure to pay them the minimum wage for all the hours they worked, the suit also cited their mistreatment at the Jills’ annual golf tournament, where select Jills were required to wear bikinis and go into a dunk tank where they were dunked by tournament participants.
This is me just screaming out loud here but…WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANT TO BE AN NFL CHEERLEADER? It sounds like a complete nightmare. Jiggle tests, how to wash your vagina—and you get paid $8 an hour? NO THANKS!
Photo: Timothy Ludwig/USA Today Sports