Dancing for the New Orleans Saintsations cheerleading squad was a lifelong dream for Bailey Davis.

These desires had been crushed after three years on the job when she says she was fired for a “distasteful” Instagram put up.

Now, the previous cheerleader has filed a grievance in opposition to the Nationwide Soccer League (NFL).

Rising up in Ellisville, Mississippi, Davis’ household travelled 150 miles (240km) to Louisiana to assist the New Orleans Saints soccer workforce every season.

Her mom labored as a choreographer for the Saintsations for 18 years and Davis grew up across the ladies with the purpose of sometime changing into certainly one of them.

After highschool, Davis lastly had her likelihood to bounce within the Superdome, the place the Saints play. She was invited to grow to be a Saintsation after a yr of junior school.

The 22-year-old spent three seasons travelling with the 2010 Tremendous Bowl champions till she was fired on 23 January.

The picture that she stated led to her dismissal confirmed Davis in a lingerie physique swimsuit, which her employer allegedly claimed violated Saints coverage.

“This letter is your affirmation of the termination of your employment with the New Orleans Louisiana Saints efficient as we speak… as a consequence of failure to adjust to Saintsations guidelines and laws”, the letter, seen by the BBC, reads.

Why was she fired?

The “guidelines and laws” referred to within the letter are anti-fraternisation insurance policies between dancers and gamers and semi-nude photographs posted on social media.

The NFL workforce’s worker handbook says: “Nude, semi-nude, or lingerie pictures is strictly prohibited and phrases for fast dismissal”.

The rule, nevertheless, doesn’t apply to Saints soccer gamers and is simply required for Saintsation cheerleaders.

After she was let go, Davis employed a lawyer and filed a discrimination grievance in opposition to the NFL workforce with the US Equal Employment Alternative Fee (EEOC).

Davis’ lawyer, Sara Blackwell, instructed the BBC that she believes the coverage unfairly targets ladies.

“The Saintsations must be handled as athletes, which is what they’re,” she stated. “This can be a clear discrimination primarily based on gender.”

She added that gamers can put up photographs of their underwear on social media, so cheerleaders must be allowed to as nicely.

Blackwell, who filed a grievance on Friday, stated the subsequent step will probably be to ship a letter to the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to request a listening to.

Davis can also be difficult the Saints for his or her declare she broke anti-fraternisation guidelines, which she stated was one more reason for her dismissal.

The previous cheerleader stated she was known as into the workforce’s human sources workplace and was instructed she had violated the coverage by attending a celebration with Saints gamers, which is prohibited for members of the dance squad.

Media playback is unsupported in your machine

Davis denied the allegation, however the rumours continued.

After she posted a lingerie picture, her coach texted her: “Very poor judgement to put up an image like that particularly contemplating our latest conversations in regards to the rumours going round about you. This doesn’t assist your case. I would anticipate you to know higher.”

‘Predatory’ soccer gamers

Along with strict tips guaranteeing their social media is “tasteful, respectful, and fashionable”, cheerleaders are additionally accountable for blocking gamers who observe or contact them.

In January 2018, the Saints reminded the all-female dance squad that their social media pages should be in “personal mode”, in keeping with an e mail obtained by the BBC.

Davis stated they had been additionally instructed to take away their final names from their Instagram accounts to keep away from being discovered on-line by soccer gamers.

“In an effort to guard you from participant advances and exercise that may be deemed suspicious it’s in your greatest curiosity that so long as you’re a Saintsation you don’t observe any gamers or coaches in any respect,” coach Ashely Deaton stated in an e mail.

She stated cheerleaders couldn’t like or touch upon something posted on-line about particular Saints gamers, although following workforce accounts was tremendous, in keeping with the e-mail.

“Any such exercise will doubtless give them the impression that you’re accessible to their advances,” she wrote.

Davis stated that by framing the gamers as predators the Saints had been doing a disservice to each cheerleaders and soccer gamers.

“It is utterly discriminating as a result of it is our job to verify they behave themselves. The gamers have by no means harassed us,” stated Davis. “The organisation is making an attempt to make them appear to be they’re predators.”

The New Orleans Saints declined to offer a remark to the BBC.

Lawyer Gregory Rouchell, who represents the NFL workforce, said in a statement to the Hattiesburg American newspaper: “The New Orleans Saints is an equal alternative employer, and it denies that Ms Davis was discriminated in opposition to as a result of she is feminine. The Saints will defend these allegations sooner or later, and the Organisation is assured that its insurance policies and office guidelines will face up to authorized scrutiny.”

What are the opposite guidelines for cheerleaders?

If a Saints participant is to stroll right into a bar or restaurant, cheerleaders are required to go away the institution or threat dropping their job, in keeping with a replica of Davis’ grievance.

Davis’ lawyer stated that is certainly one of many guidelines that unfairly controls the actions of dancers, who all occur to be ladies.

“Bailey is an advocate for ladies being handled equally. We’re hoping this may also help different ladies battle to interrupt the glass ceiling,” Blackwell stated of her consumer.

Based on the grievance, different guidelines for cheerleaders within the Saints’ handbook embrace:

• Dancers will make no public appearances or put up photographs on the web sporting Saintsation cheerleader uniform
• Members shall not date or fraternise with any participant, coach or administration personnel
• Socialising in shut proximity with gamers will end in fast termination
• Social media accounts should not establish Sanitsation dancers as members of the workforce
• Recreation day make-up and hair cuts should be accredited by the workforce director

It’s unclear what number of comparable guidelines exist for cheerleaders working for different NFL groups.

Nevertheless, the Saints should not the primary workforce to return underneath scrutiny for his or her remedy of cheerleaders.

The Buffalo Bills were widely criticized for forcing cheerleaders to do a “jiggle take a look at” to see in the event that they had been slim sufficient.

Blackwell stated the strict crackdown on social media accounts makes it troublesome for cheerleaders to construct their private model whereas dancing.

“The gamers, who already make a ton extra money, can have public profiles the place they exhibit their physique and put on Saints uniforms. They’re allowed to advertise themselves, however the dancers should not,” she stated.