NYTimes.com: As the N.B.A. starts a new season this week, the salary cap for players will climb to a record $70 million per team at the same time that a federal court considers charges that cheerleaders have been cheated out of fair pay.
This fall, legal claims of wage theft in professional cheerleading have spread from the N.F.L. to the N.B.A., and basketball teams’ treatment of female performers is under intense scrutiny.
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I remember reading about the Bills' case when it happened and thinking how so many people probably don't give a second thought to the treatment and pay of the cheerleaders and dancers of professional sports teams. I think this is the type of profession that could really benefit from unionization, but the problem is that it would be very difficult to actually make that happen. With these women so spread out across the country, though this does get easier in the digital age, it's hard to organize and communicate enough to strike or make demands effectively. So much of what these women go through and write off as "just part of the job" are actually not included in their compensation. Te same way that safety glasses and earplugs are necessary for people in the shop to work effectively, in a way is like a cheerleader not being able to have the most effect without full hair and makeup. While it may seem trivial to some, these are things that actually matter in the world of professional sports dancing/cheerleading, and they're expected to cover all those costs. Another way of looking at it is expecting an actor to compensate a costume shop for their costume; it's just not something that should be expected.
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