On the field, she cheered in the green and white uniform of the Jets cheerleaders — white boots, miniskirt and top. In court, she is known as Krystal C., and she has just filed a class-action lawsuit that seeks “damages for unpaid wages and reimbursement of work-related expenses.”
In short, the former member of the Jets Flight Crew claims that, when all the practices and required appearances are factored in, she and her fellow cheerleaders earn only $3.77 an hour.
Though there are no accusations of groping and other harassment here, this suit makes the Jets the fourth football team — the others are the Buffalo Bills, the Oakland Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals — to be sued by its cheerleaders.
Krystal C. is likely to find much public sympathy. True, cheerleaders don’t bring as much to the game as the star quarterback. But they work in a league overflowing with multi-millionaires, not in some bodega whose owners can argue larger minimum wages could kill them.
On the other hand, there’s more to this case than paychecks. For one thing, it’s not as though cheerleaders are unaware of what they are signing on to. Some believe it is an entree to other things. And it’s true that former pro cheerleaders have gone on to careers as models, television reporters, actresses, etc.
The singer Paula Abdul, for example, was discovered by The Jacksons when she was cheerleading for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Which is probably why there is no shortage of women competing for the jobs. As a lawyer for Krystal C. told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s like you end up virtually paying them for the privilege of being a cheerleader.”
That’s closer to the truth: For some women, being a cheerleader means public exposure they could never buy.
The easy answer would be to pay them more. But as with minimum-wage requirements, it will in the end depend on how much the teams actually value cheerleading. If teams conclude cheerleading is a vital part of the entertainment they provide, they are likely to work out better pay.
But if they conclude it is more hassle than it’s worth, they could easily drop cheerleaders altogether — as some companies have done with their internship programs after finding themselves hit with minimum-wage lawsuits.
We’ll be watching to see whether Krystal C.’s lawsuit will end up meaning higher pay — or fewer cheerleaders.