Cheerleaders aren’t allowed to attend parties with players, but some teams take this rule even further. Rather than keeping the cheerleaders and players separate only during their nights out, some teams demand that cheerleaders refrain from fraternizing with players altogether.
This rule extends to ridiculous situations. For example, if a cheerleader is eating in a restaurant and a player enters, the cheerleader must get up and leave. The players don’t have to abide by the same rules.
Their Face Expressions Must Be Positive
While demanding that the cheerleaders wear two-piece outfits on Tuesdays, the Raiderettes also instituted a rule that banned the girls from making negative facial expressions. The facial expressions were included in conjunction with rules that banned crude language and slang.
Apparently the cheerleaders have to look happy and energetic all the time, and the Raiderettes aren’t the only ones instituting this type of rule. The handbook for the Buffalo Bills’ cheerleaders has a similar mandate. Better get those smiles ready girls!
They Cannot Attend Parties With Players
After some of these rules came to light, a lawsuit was filed against the Raiderettes for the way they treat their cheerleaders. During the lawsuit, it came out that the guidebook also told the women they weren’t allowed to attend player parties.
Although the cheerleaders worked alongside the players multiple times per week, they weren’t allowed to socialize with them. The rule specified that players might use drugs at their parties, and such behavior would ruin a cheerleader’s reputation. To keep that from happening, the cheerleaders were banned from the parties altogether.
They Can’t Follow Players on Social Media
The rules regarding cheerleaders and football players never seem to end. When teams say the cheerleaders aren’t allowed to have any contact with the players, they really mean no contact. That includes social media.
If a player follows a cheerleader on social media, the cheerleader is the one who will get in trouble. While they can’t control what the players do, the cheerleader runs the risk of facing a fine or even being fired if a player follows her, whether or not she follows him back. If that situation arises, nothing happens to the player who created the problem.
They Must Find Out If a Player Is Married
While most handbooks discourage the cheerleaders from spending any time with the players, others state that if the girls want to move forward with a relationship, it’s their job to find out if the player is married.
The Raider handbook said that players will lie and say they’re not married, so girls should call the NFL office to confirm their marital status. Rather than asking the players to tell the truth, the handbook makes it the women’s job to avoid infidelity.