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US: NFL bid to block Cheerleaders’ antitrust case considered

By  |  May 22, 2017

This week Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for the Northern District of California took under advisement arguments in the lawsuit alleging 26 NFL teams collude to suppress wages and prevent cheerleaders from working for other teams without the previous team’s permission, reports Bloomberg.

Counsel for the cheerleaders has argued for Judge Alsup to rule in their favor on the NFL’s motion to dismiss their antitrust lawsuit that alleges most of the league’s teams conspire to depress wages and restrict working opportunities.

The inequity is “when a mascot earns $65,000 a year and they get the NFL retirement plan, and you want to pay what they define as ‘girls’”—who trained for decades to be professional dancers—$5,000 for a 10-month job, Dexter Bradshaw itold Bloomberg BNA.

Attorneys with Covington & Burling LLP, who are representing the NFL, contend the case should be dismissed because the cheerleaders failed to plead facts to support a conspiracy.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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