Veteran Baltimore Ravens cheerleader Courtney Lenz says she was barred from the Super Bowl because she gained weight.
The news first came out on Wednesday that the five-year veteran did not make the cut for the Ravens and in an interview with "Access Hollywood" on Wednesday evening she said that she has been barred from the Super Bowl because she weighs too much.
"They said that I had quote, unquote, a rough year," Lenz said. "I'd been benched earlier in the season for a little bit of a weight gain. We do get weighed every week during the season, and you can't fluctuate at all. I gained, I think it was 1.8 pounds. I had been consistent and they let me cheer previously and then I gained 1.8 or 1.6 pounds and they said because I had gained weight and they wanted me to be consistent or they wanted me to lose, they benched me for a game and because it was a disciplinary action, that was the reason."
Lenz said she weighed 124 pounds and that team wanted her to scale back.
"During the season, I was 124. That was consistently, they wanted me to get back down to 121, 120, which is what I was at when I was 18, 19, when I started on the team," she said. "That was the only disciplinary action I had during the year. I got benched because of my weight, and they said that was the reason. Anybody that had disciplinary action taken during the season was automatically disqualified [from the Super Bowl]. However, there are some girls on the team that were also benched for their weight, and are going. So they just aren't consistent, it isn't fair. That's why I brought this to the attention of the fans because what they're doing is not right."
The Ravens released a statement Thursday morning about the situation:
"As set by the NFL, we are permitted to bring 32 cheerleaders to the Super Bowl. Our selection process was based upon three criteria: seniority, performance ability and personal conduct throughout the season. As much as we would like to take the whole team, we are unable to do so, due to parameters set by the NFL."
The 23-year-old cheerleader has been with the cheer squad for five years, but she did not receive an invitation to the Big Easy for the big game.
In response to the move, a number of fans started an online petition to get the Ravens to allow Lenz to cheer on the franchise at the Super Bowl.
"I wouldn't even have reached out and let fans know if I didn't think it was clearly wrong," Lenz told ABCNews.com. "I'm just devastated by the whole situation. This was very unexpected... I didn't even think there would be a chance of me not going with being a five-year veteran."
Lenz said the news came out shortly after she announced her planned retirement at the Ravens' last home game against the Colts. According to ABC.com, Lenz began cheering for the Ravens when she was a freshman in college at 18. After she finished school and found a full time marketing job, she found it difficult to continue to fit cheering into her schedule and announced her retirement earlier this month.
Even though she decided to retire, Lenz feels that her veteran status should be enough to be on the field and accuses the Ravens of keeping her away as payback for quitting.
"They've been really hard on me this year since I told them I was leaving," Lenz said. She received an email last week with the names of the 32 cheerleaders who would join the team in New Orleans. "I was the only three-plus year veteran that [is] not going. I immediately thought it was a mistake."
In response, the Ravens said that they needed to choose only a select number of cheerleaders from the 60-member team since space is limited.
Fans of the team took the internet quickly, including Debbie Kammerer, 52, of Pasadena, Md., who created the online petition that has already has surpassed 1,200 signatures. According to ABC, Kammerer may not attend the game due to the move by the Ravens.
"We're just angry," Kammerer said. "She was 57th among the hottest NFL cheerleaders this season. People want to burn their jerseys and don't want to support the Ravens anymore. My heart isn't even wanting to go. I could save $3,500. This is totally wrong."
According to the petition online, "Lenz was ranked 57 among 100 hottest Cheerleaders this season & is a featured cheerleader in many print articles. Courtney is beautiful & this organization that is supposedly out there to promote self-esteem and healthy body image to millions of young girls and women nationwide has done a big injustice to Courtney & we are outraged! She deserves to be out on the field with her teammates, her family."
