Raiderette wages lawsuit prompts Labor Dept. investigation

Bob Egelko
SFGate.com
January 30, 2014

The U.S. Department of Labor says it is investigating the Oakland Raiders’ treatment of the Raiderettes, after one of its cheerleaders accused the team in a lawsuit of failing to pay minimum wages and illegally saddling the squad with fines and travel expenses.

Jose Carnevali, spokesman for the Labor Department’s regional office in San Francisco, confirmed the investigation Wednesday and said it concerned “the team’s cheerleader squad,” and not merely the individual who filed the suit last week.

“Because this is currently an open case, the department cannot provide further information about the case at this moment,” he said.

The cheerleader, Lacy T., filed her suit in Alameda County Superior Court as a proposed class action on behalf of the 40 Raiderettes and other members of the squad over the past four years. Her lawyer, Sharon Vinick, said Thursday that she was encouraged by the federal government’s prompt action.

“I would hope that the Department of Labor would be looking at teams across the NFL,” Vinick said. Similar allegations of low wages and unpaid expenses have been made against several other National Football League teams, but Lacy T. is the first to file suit.

The Raiders did not respond to a request for comment.

The Labor Department has the authority to assess penalties against employers for violating the federal government’s $7.25-an-hour minimum wage law and other labor laws. It can order an employer to pay its workers twice the amount of wages that were illegally withheld.

In August, the San Francisco Giants paid $544,000 in back wages to 74 employees after a Labor Department investigation found wage violations over a three-year period. The department has also announced an investigation into the use of unpaid interns by the Giants and a second major league baseball team, the Miami Marlins.

Employers facing a Labor Department investigation have a strong incentive to reach a settlement for back-wage payments, particularly an image-conscious employer like a pro sports team, said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the Center for Labor Research and Education at UC Berkeley.

“This doesn’t reflect well,” he said. “I can imagine that this would be something (the Raiders) would want to resolve. … If this practice is common for the other teams, you might very well see other investigations.”

The Raiders pay their cheerleaders $1,250 for a season of 10 home games. Lacy T.’s lawsuit said their wages amount to less than $5 an hour – below the state’s $8 minimum wage – counting the hours of unpaid work they are required to perform at rehearsals, 10 charity events per season and the team’s annual swimsuit calendar photo session.

The suit also accused the Raiders of violating California law by requiring the Raiderettes to pay all costs of travel, team-mandated cosmetics and other items; by fining them for such offenses as bringing the wrong pom-poms to practice; by withholding their pay until the end of the season instead of paying them at least twice a month; and by prohibiting them, in their work contracts, from discussing their pay with each other.

Lacy T., 28, of Alameda said she is a “stay-at-home mom” who joined the Raiderettes in 2013 after two years with the Golden State Warriors’ dance team, which paid its members for all work hours and expenses. The lawsuit withholds her last name in accord with a Raiders’ security policy.

Woburn Woman Goes From Field to Studio

By Christine M. Quirk
The Beacon-Villager

There is a long-standing debate in the athletic community as to whether cheerleading is a sport or an activity. Cheerleaders will say there is nothing to discuss – the physical demands, specialized training and practicing involved makes participants athletes, not hobbyists. Tricia Marshall would go a step further and say not only are cheerleaders athletes, they are dancers, too.

“Dance plays a big role in any type of performance,” she said. “I think a lot of the professional cheerleaders are dancers. [The skills] are all stuff you learn at dance.”

Marshall is the owner of Miss Tricia’s Dance Studio in Maynard, and is a former New England Patriots Cheerleader. A native of Woburn, she has been dancing for more than three decades.

“My mother put me in dance when I was 3, and I always danced,” she said. “I always wanted to own my own dance studio. I used to make my friends at recess learn dances and perform.”

Marshall, now 38, first tried out to be a Patriots Cheerleader in 1995, and though she made it to the final round, she was not selected.

“But then I was hooked,” she said. “I tried out again in 1996 and made the team.”

Marshall was a Patriots Cheerleader for four seasons, from 1996 to 2000. Her first season, the team went to the Super Bowl.

“I was so excited to be on the ride,” she said. “They just kept winning, and then we went to the AFC championship, and we won!”

With the team, Marshall cheered at the 1997 Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Patriots played the Green Bay Packers, and performed in the half-time show along with the new Blues Brothers Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi and John Goodman. The show also featured performances by ZZ Top and James Brown. In 1998, the cheerleaders appeared in the American Bowl in Mexico City with singer Ricky Martin, who was just then starting to build his career.

Though the cheerleading uniforms don’t appear to offer much protection against the winter weather, Marshall said it wasn’t really an issue.

“I used to stand outside, but we would have hand and feet warmers and keep dancing,” she said. “Yeah, it was cold, but it was so exciting I was never thinking, ‘Oh, I’m freezing, this is terrible.’”

From Foxboro Stadium, where the Patriots played in the late 90s, it was an easy jump to dancing full-time. Marshall left the team in 2000 to pursue her dream of owning a dance studio and has operated Miss Tricia’s Dance Studio for the last 10 years.

“I’d been teaching dance in college and wanted to share my love of dance with kids,” she said. “There’s so much I love about dance. It makes you feel good. It’s good exercise. I love performing – it’s an overall feeling.”

In addition, to annual performances, recitals and dance competitions, the studio participates in community events, such as the Relay for Life.

“I like the charitable part,” she said. “I like being part of the community.”

That was an aspect Marshall also enjoyed about being a Patriots cheerleader. Though the team cheered only at the home games and practiced twice a week, Marshall said they were busy most of the time.

“There were lots of promotional events for different charities,” she said. “I really liked that. … Cheerleading was more than performing, and dance is more than that too. It’s doing what you love to do, being active and being involved in the community.”

Marshall said her studio allows her to live her dream, and though she remembers her time with the Patriots fondly, she doesn’t aspire to be back on the field.

“I am more content to be in the background now and teaching the next Patriots cheerleaders,” she said.

Toronto Rock Cheerleaders

The Toronto Rock Cheerleaders are the 16 member dance team of the National Lacrosse League Toronto Rock. We’d like to thank the Rock Cheerleaders for sending us a few photos of their squad.

 

 

 

 

 

Next chance to catch the Rock Cheerleaders in action is tomorrow at the Air Canada Centre when the Rock host the Vancouver Stealth.

[Toronto Rock Cheerleaders]

Broncos Cheerleaders suffer a season of injuries

AnneMarie Harper
9News
January 29, 2013

DENVER – For many of the Broncos Cheerleaders, this season has been especially hard. As a whole, the squad has had more injuries than any other season and many of those injuries have been serious.

Toni Gabrielli, who has been on the squad for two seasons, had one of the most painful.

“We were doing our touchdown dance and everyone was so excited. Someone came in from the side and knocked me down. That knocked my knee out of place. My patella actually went out. I was laying on the field and everyone was celebrating, so I pushed it back in and they carted me off,” said Gabrielli.

An x-ray revealed no further damage. The 26-year-old just missed a couple of practices as she healed.

Still, this season hasn’t been easy. Toni, along with several other squad members, suffers from what’s called “over-use injuries.” Basically, more than 20 years of dancing has really taken its toll on her body.

Toni G

Dr. Jonathan Bravman, a sports medicine doctor with University of Colorado Hospital, says “over-use injuries” are very common in cheerleading. They include your basic sprains and strains and even more severe injuries, like stress fractures.

Dr. Bravman says athletes of all ages can suffer from “over-use injuries.”

“Younger athletes, especially those who specialize in a certain sport, are really upping the amount of time and exposure they are playing, both in practice and in competition,” he said.

Making matters worse, Dr. Bravman says is the fact that these athletes continue to practice and compete. He tells 9News that doesn’t allow their bodies to heal and oftentimes, makes the initial injury even worse.

Dr. Bravman says another common injury among cheerleaders is concussions. He says they can be just as severe as what a player on the field might experience.

Coming Soon! 2014 Pro Audition Wear

This is the time fo year when the biggest names in pro audition wear will be debut their new styles for 2014. Both Dallaswear Uniforms and The Line Up have posted sneak peeks of their new garments. Dallaswear will reveal the full set of new styles on Saturday. TLU hasn’t provided a date yet, but it’s coming very soon. Click here to visit The Line Up store, and click here to visit Dallaswear Uniforms.

Click here for preview photos on THe Line Up’s facebook page.

Click here for more from Dallaswear Uniforms on Facebook.

Pom-poms, Ready! Meet the U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Who is About to Make Her Super Bowl Debut as a Seattle Seahawks Cheerleader

The Daily Mail

When the Super Bowl starts up on Sunday evening, the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback won’t be the only high-ranking team member to hit the field – in fact, there will be a first lieutenant among them.

Alicia is a member of the Seahawks’ cheerleading squad who also works as a full-time production manager for the Air Force.

The San Diego, California native joined the team as a rookie this season after dancing on the cheerleading squad at the U.S. Air Force Academy, her alma matter.

Alicia has been on active military duty for the last seven years.

After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 2010, Alicia was stationed in Seattle to help manage the production of military air crafts.

Last fall her mother suggested that she continue her cheerleading career as an adult while also serving in the military.

In fact, she comes from a military family – her older brother is an army green beret. She has said that she always wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a soldier.

After some research, the buxom blonde decided to try out for a role on the Seattle Seahawks’ ‘Sea Gals’ squad. But she had to seek approval from the military before even applying for a spot on the team, as the auditions’ final round is aired live on local television.

She told Seattle TV show Evening Magazine that she had to ‘write a talking paper about how it would be beneficial to the Air Force for me to be a Sea Gal. They decided it would be a great idea.’

In April, she auditioned for a spot on the squad alongside 250 other hopefuls.

After multiple elimination rounds, it was decided that Alicia would be one of 34 girls on the team.

‘It was awesome, very surreal,’ she told blog On Her Game of how it felt when she learned that she had been accepted.

In her Sea Gal online bio, she says that her best life experience came ‘the day I joined the Military. I was 18 years old at the time, and the Air Force shaped me into the person I am today. Some days have been hard, but every day has been worth it.’

She made her Sea Gal debut on August 17 at Seattle’s CentryLink Field.

She told Evening Magazine: ‘We do have to stay in line while we are cheerleading and do a lot of the same things as the person next to you – much like you do in the military. They do complement each other.’

This year was a good one for Alicia to to join the Sea Gal squad. On Sunday the Seattle Sea Hawks will face off against the Denver Broncos in the 48th Super Bowl.

The young dancer could not be more excited. She wrote to fans on her Facebook page: ‘I still cannot believe that next week we will be in New York! I am so proud of our Seahawks team and all of the amazing Sea Gals! And thank you to our awesome fans for helping us get there! Go Hawks!’

[Alicia at Seahawks.com]

San Jose SaberKitten Auditions

Last Saturday the Fry’s Electronics Gym in Palo Alto was filled with scores of beautiful, young dancers auditioning for the 2014 San Jose SaberKittens, the dance team for the Arena Football League champion San Jose SaberCats.

Lauren Binkoski was the SaberKittens choreographer the past 2 seasons.  She was impressed by the with the competition: “The girls look really energetic, very polished, their hair and makeup looks better than the years before. They’re really really energetic and everybodies got a really big smile on their face and we’re just really happy to have them here.”

Annabelle is a current Golden State Warriors Girl and a former SaberKitten. She was back on Saturday to help teach the choreography. She was thrilled with the turnout: “This year at the 2014 SaberKitten auditions there’s a huge group of beautiful and talented women and the competition is super fierce. I think that this team is gonna bring a lot entertainment to the fans and I think this whole organization is gonna love them.”

Veteran Tisha: “This is my 2nd year returning back, the very first year I auditioned what I learned from that is if you want something you have to go out and get it and you cant be afraid you have to be confident..and try to outshine everyone but also make friends along the way cause that will make memories and contribute to your experience and memories for a lifetime.”

When asked why she was trying out again SaberKitten veteran Sheila said, “I just really enjoyed the past 2 years..I made a lot of great friends and I really love the organization and I love the fans and I love dancing and performing.”

Kimberly Pena is the current SaberKitten Choreographer. She was a SaberKitten back in 2006-07 and that’s where her  professional dance career started. “Ever since then I’ve been able to dance for other teams. This is a huge stepping stone for the girls to get into the professional cheer world and learn everything about it and improve themselves and become better and reach their goals and inspire younger dancers to do the same.”

The SaberKittens will make their season debut Sunday, March 23rd when the SaberCats host the Philadelphia Soul at the SAP Center.

[SaberKitten Audition Gallery]

[San Jose SaberKittens]