A STORM in a D-cup is brewing between former players and the owner of a lingerie-clad gridiron team in Perth, with both sides threatening legal action.
A number of players from the Western Australian Angels team have grabbed their skimpy outfits and walked away from the Legends Football League after a spat with owner and founder Mitchell Mortaza.
Fairfax Media understands Mr Mortaza still owes players and coaches around $30,000 in payments after he cancelled the 2014/15 season two weeks before it was about to kick off.
The defecting Angel players are planning to play in a breakaway national competition called the Ladies Gridiron League as the West Coast Angels.
Former WA Angels coach J.R Rogers says Mr Mortaza still owes him $6500.
He said a number of former support staff were organising a class action in the America state of Nevada, where the company is registered.
It's not the first time Mr Mortaza has been dragged to the courts.
Former players in American Legends Football sued Mr Mortaza in August last year, saying he wrongly classified them as independent contractors in order to skimp on their wages.
But Mr Mortaza has hit back, saying he was planning to take out a court injunction against the West Coast Angels for using a similar name and outfit to his Perth franchise team.
He claimed Mr Rogers had not returned equipment and would not be paid until he did so.
“He knows that and is under contractual obligation to return [items of equipment],” he told Fairfax Media.
The stoush between Mr Mortaza and former staff and players of WA Angels doesn't end there.
Former LFL player Nicole Harvey said a number of players, including Mandurah’s Leah Werner, were fuming their photos had popped up on the WA Angels Facebook page promoting tryouts for the Legends Football League 2015/16 season.
The Facebook page also describes the new LGL as a “knockoff” competition.
“I'm sitting next to a girl now who is in that photo and she is furious,” Ms Harvey told Fairfax Media.
“It implies she is playing for the Legends Football League, when she is not.”
Mr Mortaza again returned serve saying he owned the images in question and was free to do what he liked with them.
Former LFL players, including Ms Harvey and quarterback Ms Werner, say Mr Mortaza failed to respect them as athletes and reacted in an over-the-top manner to losses.
Ms Harvey said players from the LGL were planning to protest at the tryouts for the new LFL season at Charles Court Reserve in Nedlands on February 21.
“We are going to train next to them to show the [new] girls how it is done,” she said.
Ms Werner said Mr Mortaza failed to make good on promises concerning the Angels' on-field apparel.
“He made a promise he would make the uniforms bigger, but he made them smaller,” she said.
Mr Rogers said players and staff were shocked when the season was cancelled two weeks from the start of the season.
“It was really shocking for the girls who altered their life plans and sacrificed a lot to be ready for the start of the season," he said.
“Two of the girls from the states who were coming to Australia were actually at the airport waiting to come to Perth to play when they found out."
Mr Mortaza said he cancelled the 2014/15 season because he couldn't secure TV rights.
“We had a successful first year so and as we don't fill stadiums, we rely on television coverage,” he said.
