I resisted and only tweeted something after a Hooters girl proudly played a fair ball and gave it to a fan back on March 11. If you forget, that one is here:
That made national news reports and brought shame. So I guess after that interference play, the Hooters ball girls now think that they should avoid EVERY play. See this play from Tuesday's game against the Yankees:
Surely they have had enough. The Hooters chain is significant in Clearwater, Florida because the chain originated just around the corner from the ballpark on Gulf to Bay Boulevard back in 1983. Since then the chain has blossomed into a national chain with over 450 locations. The business has built its' whole existence on the looks of their waitresses.
The Smoking Gun leaked a Hooters employee handbook from about ten years ago which outlines the requirements:
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Customers can go to many places for wings and beer, but it is our Hooters Girls who make our concept unique. Hooters offers its customers the look of the "All American Cheerleader, Surfer, Girl Next Door."
Female employees are required to sign that they "acknowledge and affirm" the following:
- My job duties require I wear the designated Hooters Girl uniform.
- My job duties require that I interact with and entertain the customers.
- The Hooters concept is based on female sex appeal and the work environment is one in which joking and entertaining conversations are commonplace.
- I do not find my job duties, uniform requirements, or work environment to be offensive, intimidating, hostile, or unwelcome.
Okay, so to serve wings you need to look like Barbie and take sexual harassment from customers. But if Hooters is going to sponsor the ballgirls at Phillies Spring Training games, how about they 1) Know baseball and 2) Possess the physical ability to serve the duties of a ball linesperson. At Citizens Bank Park the ballgirls serve as cheerleaders of sorts. However, a requirement for applying is that they are softball players. They play a couple charity games each year, but most importantly can serve a real function at a game.
In Florida, the Hooters girls have become a laughingstock. Nationally, even. So while "Savannah" (probably not her real name) may be pleasing to the eye,the more she gets laughed at and booed by Phillies fans Hooters just looks worse and worse. Should they really want to sponsor something, have them work one of the beer stands. In a job where they allegedly sign away their dignity already, let them have some.
