In 2001, this site was founded with 1 goal in mind...to provide positive exposure to Buffalo's pro cheerleaders, exposure that was sorely lacking prior to that. The very first order of business was to get the approval of the director of the Buffalo Jills. That approval came easily as I had met her the fall before and she understood that her squad would be treated with fairness and class. Over the years, the site evolved to give that same coverage to Buffalo's other professional squads. At first, the coverage was pretty basic and simple...a few photos here and there. In 2005, we expanded greatly and started working closely with the Buffalo Jills organization, providing more coverage and photography while instituting the popular Jill of The Week series, a series started to ensure that each of the hard-working women got a chance to shine on her own. We followed that up by working with the Bandettes in the same way.
In 2012, a new company took control of the Buffalo Jills and they made a lot of rules changes, including restricting fan access. We did our best to continue to provide the best coverage we could under the restrictions but the new way of running the squad eventually sparked a lawsuit and Stejon decided to shut down operations altogether.
The Bandettes, who had originally been put together by the Jills, had long before gone under the control of the Bandits organization and were not affected by Stejon's move. Our coverage of the Bandettes has been going strong for 11 seasons but unforeseen circumstances have put that to a premature end. Two weeks ago, near the end of the last Bandits home game, a security guard I had never seen before came over to me and made some rather nasty and obnoxious accusations about the work I was doing. To be honest, it was rather unnerving. People over the last few weeks have told me to just ignore what he was saying since I had the support of the Bandettes squad and the work I was doing was completely respectful and positive.
Unfortunately, tonight, early in the game, that same security guard was there and was no less obnoxious and even resorted to name-calling towards me and others as well as threats towards me. As much as I want to continue to provide the coverage that thousands of readers have come to expect over the years, I had to leave because I wasn't sure how safe I'd be there. Who was behind this, I can't say for sure, whether it be just this one obnoxious person or whether it goes beyond him as he claimed.
With the Jills still shut down for a 3rd season now and with the unsafe atmosphere at First Niagara Center, there won't be enough content to keep the whole Blog running for the time being. We'll continue to share important updates on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloProCheerBlog/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/buffaloprocheer
When the Jills are reinstated and/or things are straightened out safety-wise at First Niagara Center, we hope to be back up and running with the class and decency this Blog has been known for. This blog is my legacy and I refuse to let someone's lack of integrity destroy that legacy. My only regret is that this issue will deprive the fans, the Bandettes present and future, and their families of the coverage they've come to expect. My apologies to all those this news will disappoint but some things are just beyond my control.
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