Shocking confessions made by an IPL cheerleader

Yet another edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League is about to get done and dusted. Year after year, the tournament is reaching new heights in world cricket, breaking all kinds of broadcast records. Lalit Modi and BCCI’s baby has flocked in all kinds of personnel and specialist to promote a world-class conduct during the two-month affair.

Underneath all the glitz and glamour of the league lies a dark truth which goes unnoticed every season. Unfortunately, one of the major sources of attraction in the tournament are the women who put on an endless smile while holding their pompoms, dancing to the beats of the DJ, in between overs and whenever a boundary is hit or a wicket is taken. Yes! These are the ‘Cheerleaders’ we are talking about.

Ever wondered about their remuneration or the accommodation they are provided? The answer would be ‘no’ because the entire population of the country has tagged them as sexual objects who perfectly fit into the eye candy bracket.

How it all began?

India is the lynchpin of franchise cricket at the moment but many may not comprehend from where the concept of cheerleading began. Cheerleading is just another dance form like a salsa or a jive. Schools and colleges abroad encourage young girls to take up the dance form and organise competitions on a national level.

Professionally, they are a vital part of the popular sports in the USA such as baseball, basketball, American Football and many more. Since T20 cricket originated in England, the think-tank of ECB wanted to spice up the gentleman’s game with a flavour from the West and infuse something new into the future of the game.

India finally gave in to the exciting new format and came up with their multi-million dollar baby, IPL, which amongst other things also included the concepts of cheerleaders in the tournament. Vijay Mallya and his Royal Challengers franchise in an attempt to propagandise their set-up, promoted their scantily clothed cheerleaders from a top-notch American football team to lure in the crowds in the stadium and increase the TRP of the broadcasters.

The impact of this move is still creating ripples in the IPL as cheerleaders still face difficulty to show their moves in front of a sex-starved audience who completely have a different comprehension of the concept of cheerleading. The cheerleaders these days face heckling, eve-teasing and are subjected to provocative gestures by the audience present for the match. India might have adopted the trend from the West, but could not comprehend the culture.

These women have also made allegations about poor accommodation, meagre salaries, and rampant racism. According to reports, an average female cheerleader is paid USD $ 100 for every match, whereby the players are paid in millions. These are artists we are talking about who are not just objects to look and made advances at.

The Shocking Confessions

A young cheerleader from America who chose to remain anonymous in the fear of losing her job confessed in a Reddit AMA about the travesties she had to face in the Indian Premier League. For the love of dance, she traversed all the miles from a distant continent only to be at the receiving end of abusive and cheap comments hurled at her.

Agitated by the shocking behaviour from the so called ‘slime-balls’ she stated, “For the most part I can’t hear them. The music is loud enough and the accents are thick enough I’m mostly oblivious to the words. This doesn’t mean I can’t tell that there are some obvious slime-balls behind me. I try my best to ignore them. And I’ve made a personal rule for myself not to take pictures with fans unless they’re women or children. I’m not keen on becoming someone’s fap bate for the night.”

When questioned about her experiences she went on to lament about the shady accommodations provided by the management. “Conditions aren’t the best. If I were back in the U.S. I’d be shocked at the state of our toilets, changing rooms, and on occasions our hotel rooms,” she wrote.

She further made a shocking revelation about the cheerleaders being forced to put up in a room infested with cockroaches and rats in the wake of abject corruption which has already plagued the country.“The first two games they were more like 1 star hotels. Cockroaches, I saw a rat and rat droppings, it was pretty bad. But we quickly spoke up and realized our manager for that trip had been skimping us and pocketing the money he was saving on a cheaper hotel. Now they’re more like 3 star. Perfectly comfortable but not over the top.”

There are men who make kissy faces and take pictures while they perform but she tries to keep a blank look and focus on her work. “I put a blank stare on for the most part when I’m facing the crowd. There’s just so many nasty men making kissy faces and taking my picture that I tend to just block it all out. Often I’ll lock eyes with some nice people that are smiling and those are the people I’ll focus on for most of the game. So I haven’t really seen many funny things. If someone genuinely made me laugh though, that would be a welcome thing,” expressed the anonymous cheerleader.

For many a game, these cheerleaders have to perform their duties in scorching heat and still appear gleeful about the circumstance. But when questioned about the worst facet of the job, as aforementioned, she stuck to the sexism part which repulsed her the most.

“I am a feminist, and I admit that I am bothered. When I danced and cheered in the U.S. I felt less like that. If you were to watch female dancers on Broadway, regardless of their outfit, you probably wouldn’t call them a sexual object. You’d call them a dancer. I went into this contract as a dancer, finding that I’m treated more as a sex object,” augmented the victimised dancer.

Needless to say, she had second thoughts about renewing her contract. “I try to be forgiving of human nature so I’m rolling with the punches. I also enjoy what I do regardless. But I wouldn’t renew this contract for another year unless things changed,” added the American cheerleader.

While signing off, the cheerleader made a valid point about rampant racism prevalent in her business. “I hate the racism. Why is my team made up of 99% white girls? Why do Indians feel it’s ok to dress white girls up in skimpy outfits but they won’t let their fellow Indian women do it? It’s messed up.”

Based on the horrid account shared by this American one has to question themselves about the kind of impression our citizens are leaving in front of young women from around the world. Placing a barrage of security is not the answer but changing the mindset is. India is already defamed for its atrocities against females in the country. The least we can do is be hospitable to our visitors and abide by the slogans of ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’.