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.
Wrong? Me? When?
Heh - It's really called Melons?
Cool. I actually ate at that Hooters when I went to Dukes Fest 2004!
Yep! Another evil den of iniquity!
Great seafood too!
This is my statement:
"It's not that women are too smart to pay men to wear skimpy clothes, we don't want to see men dressed that way."
Here is your statement:
"I think if we took a survey, you'd see just how wrong that statement is."
192 posted on 02/01/2006 9:13:53 AM PST by airborne
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Men should never be scantily clad, IMHO. Remember what Elain said on Seinfeld, "mens bodies are like jeeps, they are for getting around, etc...:)a woman's body is a piece of art". LOL!
I promise I posted before I read your post.....great minds think alike???? You may disagree but how funny!!!
Are you really this clueless as to what I'm saying? Because I'm really tired of wasting my time trying to explain it repeatedly.
"Do you or do you not want to see men in skimpy clothes?"
#92 - More proof that feminist = Ugly, manless, and hairylegged.
Jeans (Levis) and a white button down have always been my favorite. Kinda like Mikhail Baryshnikov in White Nights.
Sorry - unable to find suitable picture....
"Are you really this clueless as to what I'm saying? Because I'm really tired of wasting my time trying to explain it repeatedly."
Then stop wasting your time explaining. You have so completely convinced yourself that women love men scantily dressed that you can't admit it to yourself that women find the male body, as elaine states, "hideous, hairy, lumpy" etc. Read through the posts, the ladies agree with me. Sorry to burst your bubble. Also unattractive in a man is a massive ego.
They answered the question you asked, that's a fact.
Sorry to burst your bubble. Also unattractive in a man is a massive ego.
Now that made me chuckle.
No bubble burst. And as for ego, I agree with you.
And although I'll leave it at that, I'd admit I was wrong if I thought I was. But I wasn't.
"Hooters is not a lascivious skin joint. >>>
The wife doesn't buy that for a New York minute."
sorry, but your wife needs to be better informed, and you need to be more of a gentleman and a man and not hide behind a statement you attribe to her.
Post #199: Naked men have no pleasing symmetry, no matter how buff they are.
Post #202:
Your point is a valid one...
Jerry: "Well, I was walking around naked in front of Melissa the other day--"
Elaine: "Whoa! Walking around naked? Ahh... that is not a good look for a man."
George: "Why not? It's a good look for a woman."
Elaine: "Well, the female body is a... work of art. The male body is utilitarian, it's for gettin' around, like a jeep."
Jerry: "So you don't think it's attractive?"
Elaine: "It's hideous. The hair, the... the lumpiness. It's simian."
George: "Well, some women like it."
Elaine: "Hmm. Sickies."
Post #206: A man in a suit looks much better than a man skimpily clad
Post #227: Men should never be scantily clad, IMHO.
Here is your question:
"Do you or do you not want to see men in skimpy clothes?"
Do ANY of the above posts answer your question?
Muggs & Juggs is right down the street from my house.
Man oh man, do I love Florida.
Thank you!
My eyes!!!! My eyes!!!!
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