No Cheers In NFL

Who would have thought it .... apparently American Football Cheerleaders are sometimes subject to some 'sexism' when being selected or training .... with such things as 'jiggle tests', as well as tests of athletic dance ability, being required to get or retain a place on the teams.

A 'jiggle test' by the way is where they are judged on their physical appearance in their outfit, and told which parts of their bodies are problem areas they need to work on. Too many warnings for an out-of-shape body could lead to sitting out a game, or even the sack.

Really!! What shocking times we live in, when a teenage nymphet, in a skimpy leotard or costume, and willing to do acrobatic contortions to entertain a largely male crowd, can be asked to demean herself by going a 'jiggle test' before winning a place on a dance team, where she will then happily cavort about. Of course that cavorting about, can mean that they face heckling, and possibly, groping, at sponsors / promotional events. As one ex-cheerleader said "Let's be honest. You're an NFL cheerleader and you're standing in front of 10,000 drunk guys all the time".

Traditionally, its never been a well paid role in the National Football League scheme of things, with many cheerleaders making around $100 (£60) per show or less. They receive no compensation for time spent practising or working at promotional events, and only one club, the Seattle Seahawks, has said that they pay cheerleaders an hourly wage and overtime.

Seahawks Cheerleaders aka 'Sea Gals' On Hourly Rates

But these poor conditions are mainly fuelled by the fact that many, many, teen girls are willing to do the work for peanuts, as its a chance to break into Playboy, or even TV, and of receiving a very thorough dance training. Although to be fair, on the plus side, the girls can pose for calendar shots, which are then sold as fund-raiser's and the most popular ladies are able to pocket the profits from their 'personal sales'.

Of course, given all these Dickensian working conditions (on a par with chimney sweeps if you ask me),  they have been advised to sue .... this is America after all. Especially if they believe that by undergoing and failing said 'jiggle test' they didn't actually get the job, were made to sit on the bench, or feel demeaned in some other way. So now three trial lawsuits have gone in against the NFL, citing that the complainants:

1. Aren't compensated fairly for their work, and
2. Are subject to degrading work conditions, and unwanted sexual contact.
3. That they often have to pay for certain beauty products such as skin tanning sessions and gels for fair skinned dancers.
4. Pay up front for their promotional calendars, and therefore lose money if they don't all sell.
5. Are asked to do 'voluntary' promotional work, which is in effect unpaid labour.

In the end, said a lawyer representing some of the girls, it doesn't matter that there are thousands of women lining up to do the job, or that they get perks by being associated with the NFL, but 'The NFL isn't just about football. It's about pageantry and spectacle, and above all, commerce, bringing in $9bn (£5.3bn) last year. The cheerleaders, she says, should get their share' ..... ah, that's the important bit 'get their share'.

Well suing will no doubt bring a bit of sanity to a world gone mad ....

Bad To The Bone

Sirgiorgiro Clardy was a pimp, and in fact, in a 'profession' where nastiness is a job requirement, he was one known as one of the most violent in Oregon.

Sirgiorgiro Clardy - Bad Ass Pimp

So its perhaps no surprise that he's currently serving a 100 year sentence (which sadly we don't have in the UK), after he was arrested for stamping on a man’s face so hard, that his victim needed stitches and nose surgery .... an offence which by the way, you can see being attempted most Saturday nights in many British city and town centres.

Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting

Such was Mr Clardy's antisocial bent, that even in court a bag had to be placed over his head, just to stop him spitting on others, and in scene reminiscent of movie comedies his own lawyer was desperate to quit because they felt it was unsafe to sit next to him .... shades indeed of 'Cape Fear'.

He was given the incredibly lengthy by UK standards prison term of 100 years, after being described as an anti-social psychopath who was 100 per cent likely to commit violent crime again .... I also suspect that everyone from the judge to his lawyer, recognised that if he ever gets out, he will be carrying a grudge, so a life sentence was safest for everyone.

One court psychologist said: "People like him are born bad. It’s not something we can fix, that’s why we have prisons." ... again a concept we could do with here. So why am I writing about this petty scum-bag?

Well he has raised himself above the ordinary by showing a brass neck of extraordinary length. Seven months after his sentencing, Mr Clardy filed a lawsuit against Nike for £60million because it failed to warn him that shoes could be used as a dangerous weapon.

He had been wearing 'Air Jordan' trainers (obviously the footwear of choice for the Oregon pimp .... whatever happened to the Mack Daddy code?), when he stomped on the man’s face.  He insists that this could have been prevented if a warning label had been on his shoes.

Dangerous Trainers When Worn By Mr Clardy

Mr Clardy claims Nike neglected its duty of care as its ‘potentially dangerous’ products could be used to inflict serious injury or death. He also suggests he has sued because Nike’s lack of ‘an adequate warning or instruction has caused personal injury in the likes of mental suffering’.

We live in a world gone mad ....