A tricky topic of Sexism in the NFL

Scorumians - knowing we have a lot NFL fans and US Americans here this might not be new to you but a serious stuff we also might wanna discuss on Scorum. Sorry I am not as active as before. New job, tons of stuff to do - at least I curate my German community still - btw - we need German Content!

Back to topic - NFL and Cheerleaders!

What is the news hook? Bailey Davis sues the NFL franchise New Orleans Saints for gender discrimination which interesting and strange contract details I was not aware of. In general American Football and cheerleading belong together like Texas and Cowboy hats in the US - it is a common relation. Usually when players of the NFL teams enter the stadium, they are cheered on by young (mostly sexy) women with costumes and pompoms. The lovely girls and ambassadors of their clubs - every girl (or many) want to become a Cheerleader in a top team environment. But as in all businesses there are shady dark sides which come to the surface again now.

Back in 2014 the New York Times published that five cheerleaders of the Buffalo Bills sued their franchise for discrimination. Many other franchises have been sued by their cheerleaders and several dancers have won for having to do things they did not like like performing on golf tournaments or topless photo shoots in front of visitors in public. Another claim was shitty salary, general gender discrimination or even racism.

The latest accusation the NFL faces is by Bailey Davis, who was sacked by New Orleans Saints for violating existing work guidelines. Now she is suing the team for gender discrimination. To show that she is not interested in money, she demands only a symbolic dollar in compensation. But in the course of this case, for the first time, details of the contract are made public in the New York Times. An integral part of the contract is an eight-page code of conduct.

The 22-year-old was officially dismissed because of an underwear picture on her Instagram account and because she was at the same party as a player. However, she denies the presence at the party, there is also no evidence for it. And the accusation with the picture does not lack a certain hypocrisy.

After all, the cheerleaders had to pose for the team's bikini calendar shortly before, which they were supposed to sell even before the games. "We were urged to sell 20 calendars before each game. Those who didn't succeed were not allowed to dance until the end of the game. They told us that we should go to the fans in sexy, short two-part shows to sell more calendars," Davis told a German TV show. The contracts are quite interesting so e.g. cheerleaders are not allowed to eat in the same restaurant and must leave when a player enters the restaurant - WTF?

The NFL teams usually claim this is to protect the cheerleaders which was not accepted by Davis' lawyer stating: "This antiquated prejudice that women have to be hidden for their own protection is not allowed in the USA - and certainly not at work."

Thoughts my friends?

NFL / scandal

Cheerleading and its dark side

Cheerleading and its dark side

Cheerleading and its dark side