Posted on 02/01/2006 3:43:36 AM PST by don-o
JOHNSON CITY - A former East Tennessee State University cheerleader contends that she was dismissed from the squad because of her job at a restaurant known for tight-fitting, scanty uniforms.
"I'm 18. I should be able to work where I choose," ETSU freshman Kimberly Sams said of her job at Johnson City's Hooters Restaurant. "Maybe if it was a strip club or something like that, it would be different. If the basketball team can come in here and eat, then I should be able to work (at Hooters)."
Sams, a Carter County resident who graduated with honors from Unaka High School last May, joined the ETSU squad at the start of the fall semester and started working at Hooters in November.
She cheered until about three weeks ago, when squad coach Tammy Bartow called her into the locker room after a basketball game and dismissed her.
Sams said Bartow, wife of head men's basketball coach Murry Bartow, made it clear that her off-campus job was the reason - a "Hooters Girl" was not in keeping with the ETSU squad's image.
"She (Bartow) didn't call me before the game," Sams said. "I had no warning that I was going to be kicked off."
Citing federal laws regarding students' privacy, ETSU Athletic Director Dave Mullins declined to comment on the specifics of Sams' dismissal, including whether she was dismissed because of her job, other than to say she violated athletic department policies and agreements between coach and student.
Mullins said department administrators reviewed Bartow's action, departmental policy and squad agreements before upholding the decision.
ETSU asks all student-athletes, including cheerleaders, to sign copies of the department's policy on ethical conduct and sportsmanship. Students must sign a compliance statement regarding such issues as drug use, class attendance and public criticism.
The statement specifies that students will "represent self, family and East Tennessee State University in attitude and conduct that is a credit to each."
Mullins said members of each team also are expected to adhere to policies set by the coach. Bartow's policy includes statements regarding expected behavior for cheerleaders.
"Behavior by a squad member that brings unwanted, unfair, negative attention to the squad can and will result in the member being removed from the squad," the policy reads. "The image and reputation of the squad members as a whole are the utmost importance."
Asked whether the policies addressed what kinds of jobs students could hold or places they could frequent, Mullins said they did not.
"I don't think any of our policies are going to specify certain individuals or companies or institutions," he said.
Sams said ETSU never informed her of any restrictions about places of employment, and she had no reservations about accepting a position waiting tables at Hooters when a classmate suggested that she apply.
"I used to come here all the time on Tuesday nights for karaoke and me and my friends would just come in and hang out," Sams said. "We have little boys have their birthday parties at Hooters. It's a very fun and relaxed environment.
"It's so much fun that it keeps my spirits up at school. I'm not stressed. I'm not working too hard. A Hooters Girl is like an all-American cheerleader."
Sams acknowledged that her Hooters uniform - orange shorts and a white T-shirt containing the restaurant's logo - is revealing.
"But so is my cheerleading skirt. I feel more embarrassed to wear my skirt sometimes at the games than I do walking around in my uniform," she said. "We wear pantyhose (at Hooters). We don't underneath my cheerleading skirt."
Mike McNeil, vice president of marketing for the Atlanta-based restaurant chain, said he had not heard about Sams' dismissal from the ETSU squad prior to a reporter's inquiry, but it sounded as if Sams was defending her position on her own.
"We support the employee and the statements she's making," McNeil said. "I think the best thing they (ETSU) can do is reinstate her to the cheerleading team ... otherwise, it's a black eye."
Sams said although she initially did well in her classes at ETSU, her grades went south over the course of the semester and she wound up failing some classes. Cheerleaders are required to maintain at least a 2.0 grade-point average. Sams said freshmen, however, were not held to that standard, and her grades were not cited in her dismissal.
Sams said she had hoped to bring up her grades this semester, but her academic status was in limbo because of a dispute regarding the return of her uniforms and money owed her for warm-up gear.
"don't they need men to make those movies too?"
Yes, they do, and most men do not measure up to the rigid and rigorous requirements for that job, either. Rarely do they protest, though.
There was a guy who sued because Hooters wouldn't hire him. He won the suit and Hooters had to hire him, but they got even: They made him wear the same uniform! There are pictures, but I won't post them.
And why do women compare their breasts to men's genitalia, anyway? That one has never made sense to me, yet it persists.
It appears they should be working for "Hangers".
Stop by any Hooters near an Interstate and you will see a lot of families, with kids, there.
Uh oh, somebody tattled on your rant.
I'm wrong! You're right!
End of survey!
Wow, you sure showed me !
Guess I'll go back to my cave and put some ice on my big, bruised ego!
You sure pose with cute chicks a lot.
You can wear a teensy-weensy uniform as a cheerleader, but it's verbotten to wear a teensy-weensy uniform as a waitress? How re-g-d-diculous!
Hope it helps.
Why, yes I do!
Must be my big..........
.........ego!
I think I'll make it somehow.
Think I'll use my $25 gift certificate I got from the Hooters in Tacoma.
You still weren't smilin' with the cheerleaders... Did your team lose or was it more bad wings? :~D
You shouldn't have to use the gift certificate, just show them your big.......ego.
A suit...
Please god....
Hey - I've got a gift cert. for Hooters in Tacoma too... a soldier gave it to me... Someone had given it to him and didn't have time to use it before going home on the way back from Iraq...
I'd give it to ya, but you hate the wings there :~D
See the medal around my neck?
It was a silver.
I missed out on the gold in archery at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Long Beach.
Not a happy camper.
And for those who don't know....
I hate Hooters...
It's NOT a family restaurant...
Like someone said, its a sneaky T&A bar that gets away with it by claiming to be 'family'....
The food is horrendous and the girls are skanks for working there.
Besides, I don't mind paying for the food, just like any other eating establishment
The pretty women with pleasant attitudes is definitely an attraction, though.
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