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Las Vegas Raiderettes

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Las Vegas Raiderettes
Formation1961; 63 years ago (1961)[1]
Membership
40
Director
  • Jeanette Thompson (2011 season)
  • Shawna Zimmerman (2010 season)
  • Vandana Patel (Game 1 of 2010 season)
AffiliationsLas Vegas Raiders
Websitewww.raiders.com/raiderettes/
Formerly called
  • Oakland Raiderettes (1961–1982)
  • Los Angeles Raiderettes (1982–1995)
  • Oakland Raiderettes (1995–2019)
  • Las Vegas Raiderettes (2020–present)

The Las Vegas Raiderettes are the cheerleading squad for the Las Vegas Raiders professional American football team. They were established in 1961 as the Oakland Raiderettes. When the Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982, the cheerleading squad became known as the Los Angeles Raiderettes. When the franchise moved back to Oakland in 1995, the Raiderettes changed their name back to the Oakland Raiderettes and when the franchise moved to Las Vegas in 2020 they became the Las Vegas Raiderettes. In Los Angeles, Oakland, and Las Vegas they have been billed as "Football's Fabulous Females".[2]

Upon the move of the team to Las Vegas, a new 20,000-square-foot studio was constructed for the Raiderettes in Henderson in between the Raiders headquarters and practice facility and the practice facility of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA.[3]

Lawsuit

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In 2017, a class-action lawsuit brought by the Raiderettes against the Raiders was settled for $1.25 million. The suit, brought in 2014 by 90 cheerleaders, was the first case in the NFL to claim wage theft and other violations of labor law were being perpetrated on the cheer squad by the Raiders franchise. Cheerleaders for other NFL teams followed with similar wage theft lawsuits after the success of the Raiderette case.[4]

Notable former cheerleaders

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A number of former cheerleaders have found success outside the organization

References

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  1. ^ Greg Gutfeld Show
  2. ^ 'There are a lot of misconceptions - people tend to project what they think it takes to be a cheerleader'
  3. ^ "Raiderettes sign HQ deal near Raiders' Henderson facility". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  4. ^ "Raiders agree to pay $1.25 million to cheerleaders suing over unfair pay". Reuters. 5 September 2014.
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