anyone can learn a move right yeah like
when you're walking you can lift up that
knee and point that toe you know make it
sassy yes like sassy Sarah Lexi's got
sass that's his all set
this is Kristen and where she new
joining the Miami Dolphins meant having
the perfect hair body and smile but she
wasn't prepared for what else she'd have
to face they say you're only special in
the uniform your opinion doesn't matter
your voice doesn't matter you're here to
perform and that's it they intimidate
you into silence but I mean you want to
be a cheerleader it's the best job in
the world
cheerleading an iconic American pastime
some love it others think it's an image
obsessed second-rate sport it's a topic
far removed from my day to day as
refinery29 senior beauty editor but
growing up as a soccer player they were
always on the periphery what I looked
like on the field never mattered but I'm
here today to learn how in cheerleading
it can mean the difference of whether or
not you make the team sideline prep is
approach here consulting company and
Jeannine Samuels is its leader teaching
the tricks of the trade from her 11-year
run as a professional cheerleader what's
most importantly definitely nutrition
and fitness and then just don't sleep on
the importance of your appearance but
when did appearance become so important
to Pro cheer cheerleading in the early
1900's was a male-only activity at elite
Ivy League schools during World War two
women took over when men left a fight
stepping it up with gymnastics and
acrobatics it was in the 1970s that
Dallas Cowboys owner
Tex Schramm saw a lucrative opportunity
to
boost ticket sales by making
cheerleading all about sex appeal skin
tight outfits suggestive dance moves and
a beauty queen look became a must today
professional cheer is as much about
image as it is about dance for these
women it's all part of the game just as
important as putting in long hours of
the gym and mastering moves we work so
hard for years just for one audition
it's about the experience it's about the
sisterhood
I love the glam I love the feeling of
putting on my makeup and getting my hair
done and going to dance and seeing
myself in the mirror I just love it from
their moves to their makeup every last
detail is considered whatever it takes
to land a coveted spot on a team of
their dreams
women want to become professional
cheerleaders to basically extend their
life of a passion that they already have
professional level is the next step for
them
[Music]
but recent headlines are shining new
light onto this dream revealing just how
vulnerable it is to exploitation a new
lawsuit against the Raiders - Raider X
say they were humiliated and groped
they're not even paid for quite a bit of
the work that they do an entire reform
on how professional cheerleaders are
treated is long overdue
she and her lawyer are calling on the
NFL to do more to protect cheerleaders
kristen and where is currently filing a
claim against the NFL and her former
Miami Dolphins cheer team for
discrimination based on her gender and
religious beliefs
she says that once her team discovered
her vowed to wait for marriage her
coaches started singling her out and
attacking her it all came to a head in
her third season interview usually the
interviews they talk about your dance
technique you know how you are on
choreography what they expect of you
things like that and nothing of my job
was talked about during that interview
and I went in and I sat down and the
first thing the director mentioned was
let's talk about your vow to wait for
marriage and I was I don't know I
remember the feeling of sitting there
kind of like my palms starting to sweat
you know like your kneecaps started to
shake your heart's pounding because
something in me told me like this isn't
right what happened after your interview
they asked me to change into a bikini to
see if I was calendar ready which was
usual like it was never a problem before
but just the fact that I felt like I was
attacked for something so personal and
so valuable to me and to then have to
change into a bikini and stand in front
of them I mean it took a piece of me and
I remember looking in the mirror and
just saying Kristen you can leave you
can walk out right now and I didn't
christineanne was used to being
critiqued on her appearance it was part
of the job
for her well crossed the line was
feeling disrespected and degraded and
she's not alone this kind of treatment
is pervasive across the country Bailey
Davis a former New Orleans Saints ation
says she was kicked off the team for an
Instagram photo deemed too sexy members
of the 2013 Washington Redskins cheer
team reported being forced to pose
topless at a photo shoot while male
sponsors watched and former Houston
Texans cheerleader Gabriela Davis
alleges that she and her teammates were
called crack and jelly bellies I
have not spoken to a cheerleader
not one where they didn't tell me that
they were told all the time that they
are not special that they are just a
girl in a uniform and there's a million
girls that would take their place Sara
Blackwell is a lawyer representing
Kristen Ann along with several other
former pro cheerleaders who are taking
on the NFL it sounds to me like they
just want to completely control that
they have a lot of control over these
women and the way they get it is by
belittling them and making them feel
worthless you are told that you are only
here to be seen and never heard your
opinion doesn't matter your voice
doesn't matter
you're completely replaceable why would
they say things like that I think it's
the ownership and the control that they
want to have over you not only when
you're in the uniform and you're at your
job but when you're away from it Sara
gave me access to some of the
cheerleaders handbooks and rules
I saw guidelines for everything love
life social media and appearance
the rules for dealing with players
reveal a clear double standard
cheerleaders are told to avoid players
at all costs but the players are free to
do it they want this is extreme gender
discrimination and the players can go
anywhere they want they can text the
cheerleaders they can call the
cheerleaders they can follow the
cheerleaders and social media but if the
cheerleaders even accept their requests
they can be immediately terminated they
say it's for the girls protection which
is sad because we're not in the 1950s
here perhaps the best indicator of how
they're valued is how much they're paid
I used to be a Cincinnati Bengal but I
was paid more being a dancing cupcake
than an NFL cheerleader
it didn't take long for Alexa Brennaman
now Westendorf a two season NFL
cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals
to realize she was being taken advantage
of you're expected to pay for your nails
you're expected to pay for your hair
you're going to have to have a gym
membership stay in shape but we were
paid around $100 per game
I added up our practices our trainings
our appearances our events and then
divided those hours and it's less than
$3 an hour
Alexa filed a lawsuit against the
Cincinnati Bengals and in 2015 the team
finally agreed to back pay and to raise
salaries to meet minimum wage as these
lawsuits come about women are staying to
be paid minimum wage and things are
starting to change
Alexa's case shows that it's possible to
take on the NFL and win still there's a
long way to go today
which cheerleaders are paid is less than
the players and in many cases less than
the mascots less than the concession
stand workers
I was curious to know what Janine
Samuels as a professional cheer veteran
thought of everything I'd learned a lot
of cheerleaders that we've spoken to
have said one of the things that kept
them quiet was this idea of you're
easily replaceable I could have a girl
in here tomorrow the concept of feeling
as though you are easily replaceable is
valid I think for approach here it's
also valid as a reporter as an anchor
but I think that it's less of a fear and
just part of reality and I would hope
that women don't allow that reality to
hinder them speaking up and voicing
concerns or problems that they may
encounter cheerleading has been my life
as a child it was my outlet we're in it
because we love it because we're dancers
I mean we love the sisterhood there are
so many younger girls that look up to me
I just want to set the tone for them and
show them that this is an attainable
dream for them well some have used the
lawsuits as part of a bigger argument to
end pro cheerleading the women leading
the charge see an opportunity for
something else a chance to be included
in the conversation I'm just speaking
out to make a positive difference for
the NFL not to bash the NFL what it's
gonna take is a team of women that are
going to stand up together and say we're
not going to tolerate this any longer
what do you hope happens with the NFL
they they need to say I hear you to the
cheerleaders and that we're gonna take
effective and real steps to make this a
very professional and lawful environment
and if their voices are heard it could
transform the sport into something
that's truly worth cheering for
[Music]
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