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 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 Fraternize With Players
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.
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.
They Have a Strict Dress Code
It makes sense that NFL teams would control what their cheerleaders wear on the field. However, dress codes are also applied to cheerleaders even when they’re off duty.
Even if the cheerleaders aren’t working an event, they’re not allowed to wear sweatpants. The dress code rules extend much further, outlining an array of clothing items the women are and aren’t allowed to wear. If they’re off duty, however, what they wear should really be their business, and theirs alone.