February 2020

Summary:

The Albany Empire players and staff have recently received their championship rings for winning the final AFL Arena Bowl title in 2019. However, the Albany Empresses dance team were overlooked for championship rings or the custom necklaces we were promised in lieu of rings—a promise that is not currently coming to fruition. 

The Empresses were a key part of the Empire franchise and worked nonstop to provide game day entertainment and foster critical fan and sponsor relations. In light of our tremendous efforts, it is upsetting to have been overlooked for our championship earnings. 

In this petition, we are respectfully calling attention to the situation and asking the ownership group to provide us with what the other contributors to the Empire franchise have already been provided. 

For a deeper perspective, please find my open letter to the Empire ownership group: 

I first auditioned for the Albany Empresses in early 2018 before the dance team had a name and before there even was a football team established. George Manias and Rob Keefe spoke to us hopefuls on the day of open auditions about what the Empire would bring to the community: togetherness, passion, and a championship.

They were right about all three, and the Empresses were on the front lines from the start at the Empire's first ever public appearance. We worked tirelessly on and off the field to promote the Empire as the wonderful organization it was. We attended video shoots, music events, festivals, and grand openings. We went to schools, charity events, and community centers. We ran a team of 70+ young dancers called the Junior Empresses. I appeared on the news three times in interviews and spoke onstage in public talking about the team that all of us loved so deeply. By the end of the 2019 championship season, I personally had attended over 40 public appearances. I would estimate that between all of us on the team, our total number of individual appearances for just the 2019 season would be upwards of 500.

Of course, on top of our strong public and social media presences, we worked to provide quality entertainment at games. We practiced until 10 PM twice a week for ten consecutive months in our 2019 season, all of us either students or holding full-time jobs. We trained outside of practices at the gym, in high intensity workout classes, and at Pilates to maintain our contractual standards for our physical appearances. On the days leading up to a game, you could find us at the Times Union Center practicing tirelessly on the field. For games, we'd arrive early in the morning to practice and prepare ourselves and the Junior Empresses. We'd attend the pregame block parties to interact with fans and mingle with vendors… all before the games themselves had even started. 

During games, we never sat on the bench. Our breaks were quick and involved us running to the locker room for a brief respite before sprinting back into action. One could find Empresses dancing on the field or sidelines during gameplay. There were also always Empresses in the stands or making rounds in the arena's atrium, greeting fans and checking off the list of expected appearances to seats and boxes for various groups and events. After games, we would remain on the field for over half an hour taking pictures and giving autographs.

Being an Empress was a highly naunced position, one that required a special blend of dance ability, a capability to present professionally, and a charming public persona, all while exemplifying our contractual standards. We asked for nothing in return but the ability to continue doing what we loved, and we received compensation in the amount of $50 for each game. We invested our time, money, talents, hearts, and souls in order to help the Empire grow, and in turn were a critical part of the franchise. As the Empire won game after game in our 2019 season, there were whispers of earning something we wanted tremendously: championship rings.

My chagrin was unmatched when I realized that championship rings had been distributed… but the Empresses had been overlooked. We were originally promised custom pendants instead of rings, but heard no word on that when the AFL folded. Naturally, we assumed the rings were no longer happening either. I was shocked to discover that the rings did happen, but the Empresses had been forgotten. 

The Empresses were indisputably a core portion of the Empire's franchise, and to have been disregarded for the championship pendants we earned is deeply upsetting. The women of the Empresses earned our right a thousand times over to partake in the championship winnings, and we wish to remedy the current situation. 

I respectfully ask you to reconsider this decision and provide the 2019 Empresses the only reward we ever wanted for our immense contributions and participation in the championship title.

Sincerely,
Maria Balli
2018 & 2019 Albany Empress