Players' Pay Squabble Won't Sack Lingerie Bowl

Promoters of the Lingerie Bowl say the event still will go on, even though several players are now out of the lineup because of a pay dispute and concerns over playing the game at a Pasco County nudist resort.

A representative for six players said the women quit because they didn't receive the pay they were due and were unhappy the game's location was switched last week to the Caliente Spa and Resort, a nudist community in Pasco County.

"They did not want to work at a nudist resort," said Ricker Yankowski, who owns Models Without Attitude in St. Petersburg.

Yankowski, who said his agency helped with Lingerie Bowl auditions, said the players initially became upset in December when they didn't receive pay they were due. He said he contacted the league and was told the event was having trouble getting insurance.

He said the league later said it wouldn't be able to stick with the original agreement because of the poor economy. He said the league now says it will pay each player $1,000, which Yankowski said represents about a 70 percent pay cut from the original agreement.

"They should have been paid and they didn't get paid," Yankowski said.

Complaints from the players about the pay aren't quite accurate, said Stephon McMillen, director of media relations for the Lingerie Football League. The league says the women were dismissed "because of their overall lack of preparation and attitude."

The pay was based on the number of practices, he said. Originally, the players were supposed to practice for two months, but the practice time ended up being shrunk to two weeks and pay was adjusted accordingly, McMillen said.

McMillen said Lingerie Bowl VI is in no danger of being canceled.

He said plenty of other players are ready to step in for the Jan. 31 game, which features scantily clad women playing tackle football.

The two teams facing off in the event are Miami Caliente and Tampa Breeze.

"We literally have a roster of thousands of models in the Tampa area and around the country that want desperately to be part of the LFL and Tampa Breeze," McMillen said, reading from a prepared statement.

Originally, the bowl was scheduled to be in Tampa, on a vacant lot off North Rome Avenue. Last week, though, the owner of the property backed out of a pledge to let the Lingerie Football League use his land amid growing opposition from Hyde Park area neighborhood groups.

That's when the venue shifted to the nudist resort in Land O' Lakes.

"The game will go on, only with more talented and team-oriented players," McMillen said.