America’s Sweethearts
It’s Independence Day, so we’re spending the 4th with America’s sweethearts — the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
The new Netflix docuseries follows the 2023 Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (“DCC”) from audition day to their last day wearing the uniform. Dallas previously welcomed cameras into its locker room for the CMT series Making the Team. This time however, DCC ring leaders Kelli Finglass, Judy Trammell, and Charlotte Jones (daughter of billionaire owner, Jerry Jones), were not producers. And in giving up their creative control over the docuseries, the show is able to explore the darker aspects of the organization.
The Pay
Almost every DCC has a second job while cheering. Why? Because working is fun!
No, JK. It’s because they make, according to one former DCC, the salary of “a Chick-fil-A worker who works full-time.”
According to ESPN, in 2017, NFL cheerleaders made a yearly salary of $22,500. NFL mascots made $25,000. And they don’t have to pay for hair extensions, manicures, or maintain any normative markers of physical beauty.
DCC cheerleaders have one of the best NFL salaries, making about $15-20/hour for their nightly practices and $500 a game, which amounts to…not enough to support themselves as a DCC alone. It’s tough to watch Charlotte Jones, the child of a LITERAL BILLIONAIRE, acknowledge how little they’re paid, while reasserting that the girls do this because they’re passionate about being part of the Cowboys organization. Never mind that football players are also passionate about the team, but they’re adequately compensated for their time on the field.
There’s a mentality in the Cowboys organization that it is a privilege to be a DCC. One alum, who cheered in the 80s, remarked that the newer girls see DCC as a job, where as “us old-timers look at it as more of a privilege.” During her time on the team, she made $35 a game, about $85 today adjusted for inflation. And admitted that she basically donated her salary back to the team.
In one of the wealthiest organizations in the NFL (the Cowboys made $1.1 billion in revenue in 2023), it’s sad to watch these women dedicate their lives to DCC and then go work a full time job.
Orthopedic Issues
Every Cowboys game begins with the DCCs storming the field to the AC/DC classic, “Thunderstruck.”
They have 8 counts to go 10 yards down the field to all end up around the 50 yard line. Then, after 3 minutes of vigorous dancing, they go into a kick line that ends in them jumping up and landing in a split. You can watch the whole routine here, but skip to 4:00 to see the landing.
Caroline, a 5 year veteran who hung up her boots in 2022, is featured heavily in the doc as her little sister goes through her own rookie year. In a flashback, Caroline accepts an award for Veteran of the Year, using crutches to walk up to the stage.
She’s using crutches because the jump splits destroyed her hips. In her final year, Caroline says that she could feel her right hip “withering down,” but delayed surgery against her doctor’s advice to finish out the season. When we see her in the present, she’s not only recovering from hip surgery, but foot surgery as well. Another DCC from 1989 admitted that she had had twelve orthopedic surgeries in the last six years.
Everyone acknowledges that the jump splits take an extreme toll on their bodies but since people love to see it, the splits stay in the routine. And the women just grit their teeth and bear through the pain. Which is really what being a woman is all about.
Creepy Men
There’s no shortage of absolute creeps around the DCCs. In the penultimate episode, we get to see a lot of them.
The episode starts with a Cowboys tour guide showing a group of men around the DCC locker room. Todd, the tour guide from hell who I’d probably mace in an alleyway, has the men pick out their favorite cheerleader and stand in front of them. He then tells them that while the cheerleaders sign a contract prohibiting fraternization with the players, that contract doesn’t say anything about dating tour guides. And then they all laugh because Todd, who looks to be in his late 50s, could totally get with one of the DCCs.
One man on the tour asks if Todd has any of their phone numbers. A throw away joke that’s not really funny. And it gets even less funny when Kelcey, a five year veteran, reveals that she’s been stalked in the past.
Kelcey says that the stalking started when someone put an AirTag on her car. She didn’t realize the tag was there because…why would she?…until she got home. And once she was home, whoever it was knew where she lived.
She started to see a car following her. She went to the police, but they couldn’t do anything. Or wouldn’t. Kelcey says that the incident made her lose her sanity. She couldn’t sleep or eat, she would write down every license plate just in case it was her stalker. But nothing ever got resolved. She just had to accept that if someone was going to hurt her, they were going to hurt her. And stayed on the team.
In the final few minutes of the episode, Sophy, a 19 year old, is groped by a photographer on the sidelines. It’s ultimately her word against his; the police decide it’s not enough to qualify as criminal battery and no charges are filled. But as her attorney, I wanted to tell Sophy she could still sue for civil damages. Maybe I should reach out … do you think Todd has her number?
The Body Shaming
It will not shock you that DCCs are body shamed by Kelli and Judy within an inch of their lives. One girl is cut from the team because Charolette Jones thinks she’s too short.
Eating disorders seem to be a known secret on the team, but they’re never addressed. Kelli and Judy use code words with each other to single out girls who they think are struggling. They will say that a girl looks “fatigued” or is lacking “stamina.” They sometimes call those girls in and remind them they need to fuel their bodies, while also staying in DCC shape.
One woman, Victoria (who I’ll talk about more below) developed such a serious eating disorder that she had to take a gap year from the team. And it’s never clear if she’s fully recovered. Kelli and Judy both wonder about her stamina and energy but never give her the positive encouragement she, or any of the other women are looking for.
Because in DCC, you either have the sparkle, or you don’t.
Sparkle
Kelli and Judy are looking for sparkle, but none of the cheerleaders can seem to figure out what that means. Throughout the season, many DCCs openly wonder how they can change their personalities to match with Kelli and Judy are looking for. No one does it more than Victoria.
Arguably the emotional heart of the show, Victoria is a DCC legacy who seems to struggle the most to live up to Kelli and Judy’s expectations. Her mom cheered with Kelli and they’re still best friends today. Outside of Victoria’s own family, Kelli was the first person in the world to hold her as a baby. But now, Kelli spends her days seemingly destroying every bit of Victoria’s self-esteem.
Nothing Victoria does is ever quite right. She helps rookies, but is told that she doesn’t have leadership potential. She’s one of three cheerleaders who visits the team’s bus driver after he has a stroke, but she doesn’t live up the the organization’s standards. The way she looks is never quite right — at one point, Kelli tells Victoria that she is putting too much mascara on her bottom lashes. To paraphrase the iconic Kourtney Kardashian, “Kelli, there’s people that are dying.”
After a whole season of being the team’s punching bag, Victoria asks Kelly and Judy if they see her as a leader on the team. Her mom was a section leader and she wants to be one too. They respond that if she auditions again the next year, she’ll need to fight for her spot. And they don’t think she’s up for a leadership role.
It’s at that point in the series where you really want Victoria to tell them to kick rocks with open toed shoes, but she’s a true DCC so she gives them a big smile and promises to try harder.
However, a few days later, Victoria tells cameras that she will not be returning next year. It’s an incredible moment of growth for someone who tortured herself for years to meet a standard that was always changing.
My Ultimate Take Aways
The series is incredible and deserves your time. Although, fair warning, you will not be able to stop playing Thunderstruck in your head. I’m actually considering getting a lobotomy if I don’t stop hearing it soon.
Happy 4th, everyone! Sorry our SCOTUS is so fucked and a dictator is running for office. We’ll get em next year?
XOXO,
Emily
How is it possible that the NFL is a nonprofit organization.