Several former Buffalo Jills cheerleaders are headed to court, fighting for pay and fair treatment as members of the cheerleading squad. One of the groups they are suing, the Buffalo Bills.
“Our dream as being a Buffalo Jills cheerleader was taken advantage of,” former Jill and plantiff Maria said.
Five former Buffalo Jills are now bringing a lawsuit against the Buffalo Bills and the current and former owners of the Jills.
According to Dolce Panepinto Law Firm, the cheerleaders involved filed the lawsuit because they claim the Bills exploited them by not paying them for hundred of hours of work. The grievance also alleges that the members of the Buffalo Jills were degraded at multiple team events in the community.
According to the complainants, Stejon Productions and Citadel Communications (97 Rock) failed to pay the squad mandatory minimum wage for work on game day, along with other community events.
A plaintiff identified in the filing as Maria P. said that “the team told us how to walk talk, dress, speak and behave, both at work and on our own time.”
“So many of us dreamed of being Buffalo Jills since we were little girls,” plaintiff Alyssa U. explained. “When I made the team I thought I was starting the best chapter of my life but I soon realized it wasn’t a dream come true at all, but a nightmare.”
Two of the plaintiffs are expected to address the media this afternoon.
Agencies/Canadajournal