"Originally I would have loved to go to the Super Bowl, but at this point it looks like it's not going to happen . . . I can't say I didn't expect it, but at the same time, they owe that to me."
So pontificates Courtney Lenz, a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader whom the team did not send to the Super Bowl.
Talk about carrying the massive chip of entitlement on her plump shoulder.
But fear not! A movement is under way by misguided souls (aka idiots) using social media to change the organization’s mind. One of the organizers even threatened her intention of possibly boycotting the game, stating that because of this incident, people want to burn their jerseys and no longer support the Ravens.
Great! Do it! Burn everything with a Ravens logo and stay home from New Orleans! One empty seat at the world’s biggest sporting event will most definitely teach those mean-spirited Ravens!
And of course, the national media has picked up Lenz’ cause, fawning over the “beauty’s” plight and unashamedly biasing their stories to reflect negatively on Baltimore, without, of course, looking at its side of the story.
Thank God we don’t have any other problems other than rallying around a cheerleader who admitted being overweight and who announced her intention that she was quitting at the end of the season anyway.
So before we see a politically correct decision by the NFL to pressure Baltimore to reverse itself, let’s set the record straight:
1. The Baltimore Ravens employ 60 cheerleaders. The NFL allows only 32 from each team to attend the Super Bowl. Given America’s educational ineptitude, let’s say it another way: 28 cheerleaders, by definition, cannot go to the big game. This isn’t a new rule, and every NFL cheerleader should explicitly know it. That’s the job. Take it or leave it.
2. Understanding the aforementioned rule, no one is entitled or “owed” anything. Get over it, and yourself, Ms. Lenz.
3. The Baltimore Ravens have set forth criteria that must be met in order to be considered for Super Bowl duty. In their opinion, Lenz came up short in some capacity. Is Lenz the only one with more than three years of service that isn’t going to New Orleans (according to her)? Yes. Does that stink for her? Yes. Does she deserve to go on that basis alone? No.
Thankfully, the Ravens don’t employ a tenure system whereby one is guaranteed benefits with virtually no recourse should that person fall short of acceptable achievement — like our public education system and some public unions. And look at how well both of them are doing.
4. If Lenz’ weight was the deciding factor, so be it. Cheerleaders must meet stringent physical standards. Not only is fitness critical to optimally performing the demanding routines, but no one wants to look at an overweight woman shaking her assets. Call that ignorant, sexist, and chauvinistic. Fine. But make sure to call it something else: reality. We may be a fat country, but we don’t want to look at corpulent cheerleaders.
5. The Ravens’ decision on Lenz is discriminatory, and that is exactly how it should be. Discrimination has become a dirty word, yet it is an everyday part of life. We discriminate — another word for choice — all the time, from what clothes we wear to what kind of latte we order. No one forced Lenz to work as a Ravens cheerleader, and they have every right to make personnel decisions as they see fit, with no explanation warranted.
They may have chosen not to send her to the Super Bowl because of her weight. Or because she was ending her Ravens career and they wanted to give the Super Bowl experience to an up-and-comer who would be continuing service with the team. Or because they didn’t like her attitude. Or because they thought she smelled. Who cares?
Lenz wasn’t denied the Super Bowl because of color, creed, or religion, and certainly not gender, so no one has the “right” to feel that an “entitlement” was wrongfully revoked. Not Lenz. Not her Facebook friends. And not the news media.
The biggest factor in America’s demise is widespread sense of entitlement. It is a cancer that has become pervasive throughout all of society, not limited to just the “welfare dregs” that are often labeled as the biggest offenders.
It is millionaire CEOs looking for a government handout. It is college graduates expecting a six-figure salary. It is public-sector unions rejecting generous 401k’s, instead demanding unaffordable pension plans. It is politicians and parties — Democrat and Republican — thinking they are entitled to elective office, offended by anyone with the gall to challenge them.
And yes, it is cheerleaders who think they are “owed” a trip to the Super Bowl.
Go Baltimore!
Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, Friendly Fire Zone. Read more reports from Chris Freind — Click Here Now.
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