We all know that if the cheerleaders were all men none of the rules imposed on cheerleaders would be in place. They wouldn’t need to unfriend players on Facebook. They wouldn’t need to leave a party or bar if an NFL player walked in. They wouldn’t need to take a break from work in a bar or restaurant if an NFL player walked in.
If those rules were imposed on male cheerleaders, it would imply that NFL players had latent homosexual feelings and we all know there couldn’t possibly be gay football players in the NFL.
2
Why even have cheerleaders, they are not part of televised games and only a few fans are close enough to see them. Beyond this I don't get why anyone would want to be a cheerleader. Let alone for poverty pay.
3
Nice photo of the legs by the way, is that the sexist message you really want to send attached to a fight over emplooyment practices?
16
"Dozens of current and former cheerleaders have stepped forward to discuss the indignities of what is often considered a glamorous job at the pinnacle of the dance profession."
Are you kidding? Yes, some dance students do become cheerleaders, but the author knows nothing about the dance profession. I trained my whole life to be a dancer in New York City. I danced professionally before receiving a Ph.D. Now I am a university dance professor. We offer undergraduate and graduate programs in dance, as well as education degrees. Dancers have struggled to be taken seriously and not considered a frill addition to more important subjects. Dancers are artists and thinkers, and scholars, not entertainers. I agree that cheerleaders should not be disenfranchised. But please, do not state that they are the pinnacle of the dance profession.
14
Roger Goodell makes $40,000,000 per year. At an annual work schedule of 2000 hours per year, that calculates to an hourly rate of $20,000 for an hour of Roger in your life. So, the Cheerleaders want four (4) hours with a little bit of Roger? That's $80,000 please, and with the $32 bucks for each of the NFL teams the cheerleaders want, call it $80,032 total.
Do ya think Roger can afford it? Will Roger put himself on the clock? Ask Roger 'a penny for your thoughts' and all that'll get you is two milliseconds of Roger. The full dollar the cheerleaders are asking for will get them all of two hundred milliseconds or about an eye blink, because, after all, Roger is just so valuable, really.
3
Your market value is what they pay you. The cheerleaders are volunteers. You should ask them why they do it. Not slam Roger Goddell.
1
Wait. The cheerleaders are not insisting on disbandung squads? They are insisting on preserving squads for teams? Women WANT to cheer? They find personal fulfillment and fun in cheering? Don't they understand how many NYT readers object? OMG, are they free, mature, people, unconcerned by what others think of them? Um, maybe that is what we all say we respect?
2
I have only two wishes of my beloved NY Giants. Please select Saquon Barkley with your number two pick. And never, ever hire cheerleaders for home games.
1
An easier solution for the women who do not not agree with the terms of being an NFL cheerleader would be to not accept the unfavorable terms and seek employment elsewhere. Avoid the alleged discrimination and don't take the position at all. Problem solved. Usually can't have cake and eat it as well.
Secondarily, they could also use the position as is, to gain whatever exposure they are seeking and leave when it's convenient on their own terms. But please, stop the whining.....if you're among the 53% white women who voted for Trump, you should know he would support the NFL, not you.
4
It would be easier for Goodell to give them $1mil apiece.
1
What an awful job: less than minimum wage; shoved out into the crowd during events to get groped by drunks; all sorts of idiotic rules about their personal lives.
I sure don't get it, but then I'm not a cheerleader either.
2
Their job is to be literal sex objects. Instead of asking for a better work environment, they should be seeking a better job.
7
You could the same about lots of "bad" jobs. But everyone is entitled to fair and safe workplaces free from discrimination.
3
These “cheerleaders” are apparently working for their own extinction. If they all boycotted or went on strike, nobody would care or notice. Only the Times and John Branch would think it matters. What’s next, volunteers at PGA Tour events demanding a pay increase? They get a shirt and a thank you. Try getting to volunteer at a PGA Tour event. You have to sign up at least 4 months ahead because of the demand. It’s the same way with NFL cheerleaders. There is a limitless supply of women who will do this for nothing. Same in the NBA.
1
NFL cheerleaders are underpaid, discriminated against and apparently otherwise treated horribly. And if the NFL eliminates all of cheerleading squads, the same women will sue them. That’s a lot of chutzpah.
Come on NYT. A serious article about a serious matter that amounts to cheerleaders not wanting to be treated like sexual objects and have a "fair working environment" and you headline it with a photo of anonymous legs in provocative boots? I'm no prude but this just reeks.
You couldn't show a photo of the plaintiff, or the attorney, or Roger Goodell? Anything else?
Who makes these decisions?
Good grief.
6
Most pro sports (baseball, basketball, football, hockey) are about child-minded adult men, playing children's sports, to entertain the child-minded adult masses, to enrich the wealthy. Women who expect respect from anyone associated with pro sports are just stupid.
2
What could possibly be more square and unhip than the NFL? Cheerleaders? In 2018? Really? If these degrading professions must be maintained for the benefit of the sexually repressed fans of this sport, at least give them the dignity of a codified and transparent work rules culture, that give these women the full respect and meaningful wages that this job demands. Honestly, this is chump change to a profit making machine like the NFL.
3
The cover photo for this story tells it all: a bunch of legs on faceless bodies. There is no "glamor," no respect, and no important purpose served by cheerleading. "Dancing" in skimpy costumes in front of testosterone-infused males is not cause for celebration. No matter how much you get paid (or don't), it's still a game of "sex sells" in an industry that glorifies male prowess.
6
I'm of conflicting thoughts on the NFL cheerleader issues. Are the cheerleaders being exploited? Certainly. Do they volunteer, knowing they will be exploited? If not certainly, why not? The facts are public and known. So, if certainly, then why the complaints?
Considering the nature of the NFL cheerleaders employers and audiences how could the cheerleaders expect anything better? What they're doing is barely a step up from Hooters...
2
A savvy and excellent play by the women!
2
If the women cheerleaders/dancers find it demeaning to be ogled by the fans, there is nothing the NFL can do to stop it, and that begs the question of why the women want to continue to be cheerleaders and be ogled. The solutions would seem quite obvious. Oh, and where are the men cheerleaders/dancers?
3
Just to be a little bit cynical, but this offer to settle is a bit disingenuous. The payment of a dollar while seeming to be insignificant, could open up the defendant to the payment of legal fees by the NFL to the Cheerleaders' attorneys' for what appears to be a weak case bound for dismissal. It seems to be an attempt to dismiss a losing proposition while still getting paid all while avoiding payment of costs to the NFL.
Before congratulating Ms. Blackwell, have her waive any claims for attorney's fees except those paid by her client.
And there is no war on NFL football? A limitless supply of volunteers are being taken advantage of? What’s next, higher pay for the ushers at my church? Sunday school teachers going on strike for pension benefits?
If all NFL teams eliminated cheerleaders, I guarantee there would be a media outcry for limiting opportunities for women.
Classy move. Good luck to them.
1
Women complain about being sexualized and yet they subject themselves to it. If you want to be recognized for your intelligence, knowledge, or education, why be a cheerleader showing off your body in a stadium filled with drunk men watching football? What kind of decision is that?
I think it is outrageous how cheerleaders are being treated. It is sub-human almost. But given that knowledge, many women still volunteer for this!!!
I don't see any relevance of a cheerleading squad other than for showing skin and some dance moves. Nobody really goes to football games for the cheerleaders. They should be disbanded. The women in these squads should move on to more dignified line of work that does not sexualize them.
5
The ball is in your court, Mr. Goodell!
1
These women have a point to be made and not a cost, so if Goodell has any brains at all he'll take the meeting and hopefully come to some middle of the road agreement.
Football without cheerleaders would be okay, but it is better when you have an active cheering section.
1
I'm so sorry to hear that they are offering this deal! The bit about having them sell calendars (was in the preivous article) really got me. How demeaning!
Ladies, stick to your guns and find another line of work if need be. Nothing is worth this treatment.
Players, like cheerleaders, are subject to dress codes and rules of conduct. If the big shots have to buckle under, menial labor won't be able to prove discrimination for being treated in the same way. Low-paid cheerleaders are more sympathetic. But if their legal argument is discrimination, its a loser. And that pretty much explains why they are buckling under.
I hope the writer knows that bands play regularly for free in Austin Texas and Nashville TN. They can either play for free or not play at all. It’s no different for NFL cheerleaders.
Why don't these women get real jobs? They are NOT part of the NFL, and why would they want to be?
If you don't want to be treated as sex objects, wear clothes and stop shoving your body in front of the camera.
4
The attorney's cut of two dollars won't buy her a coffee. She must take women's rights seriously.
Good move, Cheerleaders !
Poor NFL....they will have to refuse to meet as they cannot say yes to this, and will look even worse than they do now, as a result.
Game theory in action !
1
The Giants do it right.
They don’t have cheerleaders.
I watch football to watch football.
And isn’t girls cheering for the boys sexist by definition?
1
When Goodell and the NFL attorneys stop laughing, they will definitely accept this "offer." The women didn't play their hand well.
Given everything we know about the NFL and American culture, it's hard to believe that NFL cheerleaders have not been abused, both economically and sexually. I fully support their efforts to gain dignity and respect. Go gurls!!
1
Imagine what they would have done for $50?
These women have viable employment discrimination claims worth thousands of dollars each. Selling their rights for a dollar is offensive.
1
For better or worse, I have not given cheerleaders too much thought prior to this case. But this settlement offer sure has won my respect. Hats off and good luck to them.
7
They are volunteers. Of course their pay is minimal. What do you think the University of Oregon or any other Div 1 school pays its cheerleaders and dance team? What’s next, higher pay for volunteers at a charity mini-marathon? Or a cancer walk?
1
What are you talking about? They are not volunteers. Its a job. Not in my opinion a very good job, but still a job. And moreover one that supports an obscenely wealthy money-making sports machine in which Mr. Goodell and many other men make literally millions a year for playing a game that many other people cheerfully play for free on weekends or after school.
1
If men had filed this lawsuit, citing harassment, low pay, discrimination and poor employment practices, they never would have agreed to this deal - $1 and a "good faith" conversation.
5
"A glamorous job at the pinnacle of the dance profession." I'm extremely confused. Why is professional sports cheerleading considered the pinnacle of the dance profession? That statement is rather insulting to all the professional dancers who do not participate in cheerleading. Would you consider the team mascot a pinnacle of costume performance art? I imagine dancers across the world are justifiably outraged right now. I admire cheerleading's athleticism but let's not go overboard. Personally, I prefer Virginia McCaskey's approach: No cheerleaders. Period. The entire industry is inherently sexist and exploitative. Chicago Bears half-time shows usually involve high school bands. I don't see Woody Johnson or Bob Kraft taking such a principled stand. As you might also recall, similar arguments have surrounded professional sports in general recently.
17
Your statement proves the absurdity of this story. Most NFL fans don’t notice there are nobBears cheerleaders. So how much bargaining power do you think they have as essentially volunteer performers?
As Goodell demands hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for his job, the cheerleaders are only asking for a buck. A mere buck. Plus respect.
It's not that NFL is the problem -- it seems like Goodell is the problem.
3
Highly profitable and powerful companies taking advantage of workers is a widespread problem and at the root of many ills
6
Why doesn’t the government pay them a living wage. The government has a lot more money than the financially dying NFL. The government will have to pick up the tab for pensions after the Times puts the NFL out of business anyway, why not start now?
The women are entertainers and should be paid prevailing union wage, perhaps with representation from AGVA, or another entertainment union, or whichever union the Rocketts belong to. I'm sorry that they only want $1 and a meeting. They deserve a decent settlement and recognition for contributing to the game day spectacle!
3
Are cheerleaders in the NFL worth keeping around? They might be fun to look at, and perhaps they’re good for non-game promo events, but do they really enhance the game day experience? I don’t think so.
13
Unionize or accept that there are restrictions re: representing the brand you’re signing into in the manner they wish to be represented.
2
Many of these rules are discriminatory, such as not being allowed to be present at a restaurant if an NFL player is there. That’s not “representation of a brand”: it’s illegally restricting what employees may do in their nonworking hours
38
Relative to the NFL's size and profitability, you know that the cheerleaders' requests will be for peanuts. I think Goodell would be wise to do a big PR campaign about how he sat down and listened to the requests and then implemented most or all of them. The NFL desperately needs more female viewers, and making peace with the cheerleaders would be a cheap way to get them.
22
I thought the cheerleaders were there to enhance the male viewing experience, not to attract more female viewers.
5
How many women tune in to NFL games to watch cheerleaders (or really, at all)?
1
Come on, this isn't a happy-go-lucky, let's air our grievances then be done with it meeting.
"Prepare a set of binding rules and regulations which apply to all N.F.L. teams."
This is an offer for the settlement to directly affect the corporate bylaws of the NFL.
The NFL is never going to take that. No large corporation is ever going to go for that. No small unincorporated partnership is ever going to go for that. This is going to get laughed out of Goodell's office, just like it would any office.
10
In addition, there are teams without cheerleaders.
2
cheerleaders are a thing of the past. why even bother becoming one>
1
How could the league possibly refuse this offer?
7
Giving in to 'uppity women'
So then the execs can be like "yeah...we will sit down and listen to you". and then do nothing. Suit settled.
16
I would not want to play chess against these cheerleaders' lawyers...nice move!
30
Could the cheerleaders join the Actors' Equity Association or another similar performance union? An effort for collective representation would do much more to address cheerleader pay and working conditions than a few hour meeting with Roger Goodell.
59
Stephen: An interesting idea, although SAG-AFTRA would be the appropriate organization. Actors Equity represents employee of live theater, not television.
7
Since you asked: the NFL would never be a signatory to an AFL/CIO associated union like Equity. And there are too many women willing to work as non-union cheerleaders.
2
They should be in the same union as the Rockettes.
1