As the Baltimore Ravens gear up to take on the San Francisco 49ers in
this year's Super Bowl, there is one team veteran who will not be making
the trip to New Orleans.
Ravens cheerleader Courtney Lenz, 23, of Baltimore, Md., is a five-year
veteran of the cheer squad, but she did not receive an invitation to
attend the biggest game of her career.
Now fans have taken to the internet, launching an online petition to push the Ravens to let Lenz cheer 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."
The news came shortly after Lenz announced her planned retirement at the Ravens' last home game against the Colts.
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.
Although she retired at the end of the regular season, Lenz believes her
time on the squad this year and as a veteran, entitles her to a spot on
the field at the Super Bowl. She accuses the Ravens of not allowing her
to cheer in retaliation 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."
The Ravens say they had to choose a select number of the 60-member squad
to cheer at the Super Bowl, and Lenz did not make the cut.
"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," spokeswoman Heather
Harness, said in a statement to ABCNews.com.
Fans who learned that Lenz would not participate took the internet to complain.
Debbie Kammerer, 52, of Pasadena, Md. created an online petition that has already has surpassed 1,200 signatures. She is so angry, she says she is considering not attending the game herself.
"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."
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