Former NFL Cheerleader Sues Team, Says She Was Body-Shamed, Labeled 'Skinny Fat'
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Another former cheerleader has joined a lawsuit against the Houston Texans.
Former Texans Cheerleader Angelina Rosa is now part of the suit filed against the National Football League alleging cheerleaders are professionals and cannot be exploited for their looks.
At a news conference, attorney Gloria Allred stood beside Rosa who says her body was duct taped without her consent. Angelina Rosa says she was considered quote, "skinny fat."
" 'Skinny fat' is the term the coach frequently used to say that we're skinny, but we're not toned. So we don't have, necessarily, the abs or the dimension or the perfection that they require for us on the field. Which I think is insane because we all are beautiful, we made the team for a reason," said Rosa. "I stayed consistent with my weight so it's really bizarre to do my job and still feel like it wasn't good enough."
Allred and her Texas co-counsel have already filed the lawsuit on behalf of the five other Houston Texans cheerleaders. The famous attorney read and provided copies of the letter she sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and his response to her.
In the letter, Allred urged Goodell to stop NFL teams from exploiting NFL cheerleaders by paying them only minimum wage. She also demanded the end of what she says is sexual harassment and abuse of women in the NFL workplace.
"I'm a team player. I loved my team and I wanted to be there for them. I danced with my entire might and it was extremely painful," explained Rosa. "My skin was being torn because of the movements of going out and being so big that it kind of tore my skin out of the tape and once I went home... I was so sweaty, the tape was really really hard to come off. It was 'adhesed' to my skin, so I mean the whole entire process was very painful."
