The famous cheerleaders of the Washington American football team learned of their disbandment during a speedy Zoom call. Earlier, they had courageously testified to the daily sexual and gender-based violence in the organization.
In the middle of summer 2020, a Washington Post investigation shakes the capital’s most famous football team. Journalists reveal that a culture of sexual harassment and abuse of employees runs throughout the company, from the field to the office. Worse, the daily uncovers videos filmed without consent during a cheerleader photoshoot for their annual calendar. We see the young women changing into bikinis for the photoshoot. For those (a dozen) who discovered that they had been filmed without their knowledge, a financial agreement was reached with the officials of the Washington Football Team.
Seven months later, without warning, the team decides to end their cheerleading program for good.
Following the investigation of Washington post, an audit was carried out within the organization by the national football federation, the NFL. Its findings confirm an environment “unprofessional”, marked by scenes of “harassment and intimidation” frequent that lead to “management by fear.” However, neither the CEO of the sports organization nor the players were fired, only the cheerleaders were. Specifically, the team was fined $ 10 million from the NFL and also had to pay internal audit fees. CEO Dan Snyder has decided to stay on while appointing his wife Tanya as co-CEO.
Express and impersonal dismissal
According to Candess Correll, a 26-year-old web developer who served as captain of the cheerleader team for two seasons, the way she and her teammates got fired has been abject. While in the office at the consulting firm she works for, Candess receives an invitation for an unscheduled Zoom meeting from one of the team’s executives. The title of the invitation? “Important meeting.” The captain decides to decline. Shortly after, a colleague contacted her to explain that the team was ending the entire cheerleading program.
She also explains to him that the Zoom meeting was in fact a webinar without a camera, meaning the guests did not have the floor, while the person announcing the immediate dismissal did so from a black screen. The reason given by the organization is that of an overhaul of the program and the dismissal of the entire team including their director, Jamilla Keene, a local cheerleading star with twenty years of seniority in this team. In 5 minutes, the longest-running cheerleader team in NFL history was disbanded. It has been 60 years since “First Ladies of Football,” their nickname, ensured the show at every game of the ex-Redskins (the team having recently changed its name).
You talk, you go
For the lawyers of the 40 ex-employees of the Redksins (including cheerleaders), this decision is a slap in the face for the hundreds of women who have dared to speak out and take risks by denouncing internal violence and the problematic behavior of several executives – including CEO Dan Snyder himself. “The NFL has just told survivors across the country and around the world that they are worthless and will never be believed. Ladies football fans, take notes.”, said Master Lisa Banks and Master Debra Katz to Refinery29 magazine.
A clear opinion shared by Mhkeeba Pate, 43, former cheerleader and presenter of Pro Cheerleading podcast. “The deafening message that we receive is that anyone who dares to denounce violence within a team, or to question the way a male executive speaks to you, pays dearly.” To date, the Washington team is the only one to have dismantled its cheerleading program after revelations about sexual harassment by several officials, including the president.
A new mixed team
As a replacement for the cheerleaders, the team privately auditioned dancers and gymnasts from all walks of life. Now numbering 38, including 10 men, the time is no longer for cheerleading, but for “entertainment.” It’s the word the team uses on social media to mark a split from their 60-year-old cheerleader.
Some of the young girls made redundant were able to pass an audition and 15 of them were rehired, but for Melanie Coburn, a former First Lady of Football (between 1997 and 2001), these changes are only cosmetic. “I don’t think anything is going to change. They repainted the storefront, but the management behind the scenes is the same.” estimates the quarantine in a interview with Refinery 29.
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Systemic contempt for cheerleading
When Petra Pope, the new coach, is asked about the reasons for these sudden layoffs, she mentions a need to renew the team so that it is “more inclusive” by adding “talented dancers” and some “male strength” to do even more things. However, according to Julia Camacho to Refinery29, a former cheerleader on this team, her colleagues were already ticking all these boxes. “All of those terms she uses to refer to new ones already applied to us. She suggests that we were neither athletic, nor good dancers, nor inclusive. Which is not true. We had daughters of all ages. origins, all backgrounds and with different profiles of dancers. “
The figures confirm Julia Camacho’s statements since the Washington cheerleading team in 2019 consisted of 61.1% of racialized women, making it the most inclusive team in the whole country (according to figures from a study carried out by Pro Cheerleading). “I’m hurt because I’m an athlete and I’m sick of hearing other people tell me otherwise”, tells the ex-cheerleader. Jumps and impressive gymnastic tricks had been practiced among the Redskins cheerleaders for years, she said.
Despite their popularity, cheerleaders still struggle to gain the respect of the public. Their practice is not seen as a sport even though they are recruited and hired to be a cheerleader. “No one sees the hours spent sweating during workouts, bodybuilding, public performances and the arsenal of choreographies one has to memorize. And no one sees how much we love this job.”, writes Emily Leibert, journalist after being a cheerleader.
None of the dismissed young women resent those who have returned to the team. They hope, on the other hand, that they are better paid and treated. Julia Camacho and Candess Correll both say they were paid $ 11 an hour in 2020, which is less than the City of Washington minimum wage, which is supposed to be set at $ 15 an hour. Most of the cheerleaders having a side job, they don’t seem to invest in cheerleading to make a lot of money. But it’s astonishing that the $ 3.5 billion Washington squad pays so little to those who put all their energy into cheering the players on. As if the work done by these women had no value.
Dan Hastings
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