This article has been submitted by Patrick Tye.

Maybe it was a slow week in sports or maybe the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Cheerleader Scandal made the headlines because it was some of the most exciting action the CFL has seen since Rocket Ismail and Pinball Clemons were running reverses for the Argos while the Great One and John Candy were in the owner’s box. Regardless of the reasons behind the media uproar, the aforementioned events were important because it highlighted one of the most underrated aspects of sports: baaaaad girls. Before I continue, I have to emphasize that I am not sexist and this article is not being written to criticize females involved in athletics. Instead of discriminating against females in sports, this article celebrates baaaaad girls who have recently impacted the world of sports.

Winnipeg Blue Balls?
Just when the winless Blue Bombers did not think their season could get any worse, risqué photographs of several members of the team’s Blue Lightning cheerleading team were posted on the Internet. Although the photos were relatively tame by internet standards, the suggestive embraces and mooning of the camera in front of the Peace Tower were scandalous enough to send the Canadian sports media into a frenzy during the MLB All Star Break. A spokesperson for the Blue Bombers was quick to explain the women in the picture were no longer members of the team’s cheerleading squad, the scandalous photos brought attention (good or baaaaad?) to a Blue Bombers team whose season has been anything but memorable so far.

Meow!
Although I have seen many a great film about stealing cheerleading routines, I had never heard of stealing a cheerleading team’s off the field behaviour until the Blue Lightning Scandal. It was only three years ago that two members of the Carolina Panther’s “Top Cat” cheerleading team were arrested after they were caught having sex with each other in a Tampa nightclub. After holding up the bathroom lines by making love in a bathroom stall, Angela Ellen Keathley and Renee Thomas argued with other patrons before Thomas punched one woman in the face. Described as “almost too drunk to stand” in one police report, both girls were charged and dismissed from the team for conduct that embarrassed both the Panthers and baaaaad girls everywhere.

Another Basketbrawl in Detroit
Fans looking for another Pacers vs. Pistons basketball fight rejoiced on Tuesday night as the Palace of Auburn Hills once again erupted into full fledged mayhem…but most fans would be surprised that the brawl occurred during a WNBA game. Replayed on nearly every sports show, the melee began after Cheryl Ford of the Detroit Shock fouled Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks. On the next play, Detroit’s Plenette Pierson was dragged to the ground by Parker, who was subsequently tackled by the Shock’s Deanna Nolan. Players and coaches quickly flooded the floor and Detroit assistant (and former Piston) Rick Mahorn even got in on the action, pushing LA star Lisa Leslie to the ground before getting punched by Sparks’ player DeLisha Milton-Jones. With suspensions and fines undoubtedly on the way, is it too early to usher in a “Baaaaad Girls” era that could rival the Bad Boy Detroit Piston squads of the late 1980s?

I wonder what Pierre McGuire did to get on TSN?
Before she was my future wife or the female face of SportsCentre, Jennifer Hedger was just another Western University baaaaad girl who was a member of the Toronto–based reality show “The Lofters.” Since few people have ever heard of the show, the YouTube of Hedger’s girl-on-girl kissing has become a favorite of many Canadian sports fans while also cementing Hedger’s place as a baaaad girl. To paraphrase the website where I found this video clip, the video is a serious “Highlight of the Life” candidate. The video can be found here.

An All American Baaaad Girl
At 6’1, 205 pounds American Gladiator Helga has quickly become the most feared baaaad girl the Gladiator Arena has ever seen. According to her biography, Helga’s most sensible opponents “run for cover rather than risk a Viking funeral.” Whether Helga is crushing opponents on the Jousting platform, dominating them in Powerball or anchoring the Gauntlet, this Nordic vixen plays the game her way, regardless of how fans and opponents feel about it.

This article has been submitted by Patrick Tye.