When you see an nba dancer perform, you cant help but be envious.
They are glamorous, beautiful, talented, skinny.
Pretty much everything you would ever want to be.
Other than the players, these dancers are the faces of the NBA, which is a billion dollar
business.
They train for their entire lives to be nba dancers, put in countless hours, and in return,
they are body shamed by their coaches and teams and they make less than the price of
a single ticket to a game.
Welcome back to inform overload, I’m charlotte dobre.
Its been a crazy year filled with women who are speaking out about mistreatment in their
industries, and the latest group of women to come forward are NBA dancers.
Half of you are already down there in the comments like, stupid triggered feminist wanting
equal rights.
To you I say.
Yes.
Yes I am, and yes I do.
For the record, I don’t think women should be given special treatment.
I believe people should be paid what they deserve regardless of age, gender or race.
And at the very least I expected more from such a huge, profitable organization like
the NBA.
Shocking allegations have surfaced about the toxic culture of NBA Dancers.
The story was reported, very eloquently and thoroughly by Abby Haglage, who spoke to dancers
from 14 different nba teams.
Once dancers are cast, they face immediate pressure to lose weight.
Dancers are given tiny uniforms that they are told they have to fit into.
Keep in mind, These are atheletes.
Yes dancers are very much atheletes.
They are already extremely toned from countless hours of rehearsal, gym time and performances.
If they have any body fat, its extremely minimal.
And whats more is, why does the NBA feel that their dancers need to be anorexic in order
to be considered ‘on brand’.
Its almost 2019 dude.
Kim kardashians massive butt is good enough to grace the cover of magazines but the NBA
wont let you eat a cheese burger?
You should be hired as a dancer because you can dance, not because you’re 90 pounds.
According to Lauren Herington, a former nba dancer for the Milqaukee bucks, her coach
would make her sit in the broom close before games and think about if she was doing everything
to be able to lose weight.
That is some harry potter under the stairs shit.
When her coach thought she looked questionable weight wise, lauren says the coach would tell
the dancer to put on her spandex uniform to do something called a jiggle test in front
of the team.
She would come up, and grab underneath her butt or the side of my belly.
Lauren was 18 at the time.
Dancers were weighed every month and the Penalties for not being skinny enough would include
benching performers so that they couldn’t participate.
This fixation on weight loss caused many of the dancers to develop eating disorders like
bulimia, and dancers would diet, take laxatives and starve themselves so that they could fit
in their uniforms and reach their goal weight.
Some dancers were told they needed to lose 5 pounds in one day.
Which uh, last time I checked, isn’t possible.
The Milwaukee bucks said that they found no evidence to support the claims.
I will also say that not all dancers had bad experiences.
Some coaches were very supportive.
Like those of the New York Knicks.
But the majority of dancers that were interviewed said that they had to endure strict weight
policies.
And then theres the issue of unfair wages.
Reports say that some dancers were paid as little as 15 dollars for practices, and 25
dollars for games.
This is not a living wage.
This is against the law.
A ticket to an nba game during the season is 78 dollars, and the average NBA stadium
seats almost 19 thousand people.
Out of all of the 15 women Haglage interviewed, only one said that the money she made from
being an NBA dancer was enough to live on.
Most had to supplement their income with up to 2 other jobs.
And this isn’t the first time that Lauren has spoken out against the bucks.
Lauren sued the Milwaukee bucks in 2015 because they would make her cover the cost of her
required beauty routine.
The bucks would make their dancers pay for spray tans, hair extensions, and manicures
themselves rather than cover the cost.
Its like dude you think I wake up like this, this shit costs money.
Take note fellas.
lauren and the other dancers were paid as little as 3 to 4 dollars an hour.
The Milwaukee bucks made 87 million dollars in 2015.
They ended up paying out 250 thousand dolars in lost wages to 40 dancers.
So far, the NBA has responded to some of the shit hitting the fan.
Most of the teams denied request for comment, but A spokesperson for the bucks said in a
statement, we treat our employees respectfully and in compliance with the law.
Also saying that they found no evidence to support the claims.
A Spokesperson for the dallas mavericks said that several years ago the team eliminated
the outdated image industry practices regarding weight.
For those of you saying, these dancers deserve to be paid that little because they are getting
exposure, uh dude, keep your exposure, exposure doesn’t pay the bills.
I have heard that exposure excuse from people who couldn’t pay me what I deserve so many
times.
And dude im not gonna lie, that line worked.
Sometimes sure, exposure could lead to better things, and you feel bad for the single mom
who wants photos of her baby but exposure only leads to better things once you put your
foot down and demand to be paid for your time.
And This is the nba we’re talking about.
The nba makes millions upon millions, they can afford to pay their dancers.
Amirite?
Point is, sure maybe 20 years ago, these kinds of rules about body image and pay were acceptable.
But hopefully the nba takes these accusations to heart and starts treating their dancers
better.
Anyways friends, let me know your thoughts on this story down there in those comments
but for now I’m going to respond to some comments.
BIGDIGGERNICK – I’ve been waiting for more info thank you potato queen.
YOU ARE WELCOME Jake West – charlotte I am not a stalker
I just wanted to say your new living room furniture looks lovely from the patio window.
Gracey Frey – I LOVE YOU CHARLOTTE I HAVE TO SAY YOU KNOW A LOT.
And I liked.
Hawk Gaming – I think people do bad things just to get on the news.
If the news didn tpost bad things I think nearly half the bad stuff wouldn’t even
happen.
You’ve got that right.
Batmanfanforever – who else wants to see charlotte
in a bikini.
Here you go.