Stripper Goes Up Against Cal State
Aug. 8 -- A California college student who was forced off the track team for working as a stripper is fighting for reinstatement, and she's becoming a celebrity in the process.
After Leiliani Rios threatened legal action against California State University, Fullerton, where she was a top runner, the track team has agreed to let her resume practicing. But school officials say she can't compete because her grade-point average doesn't meet NCAA standards.
Her lawyer, Joe Tacopina, says her poor grades — which include two F's in track — are a result of being thrown off the team. Tacopina says his client will sue if she is not allowed to compete this season.
Meanwhile, a Los Angeles radio station has held a fund-raiser to support Rios' efforts to compete again, and she has caught the attention of modeling agencies and movie producers who are interested in optioning her story.And she will be appearing in Playboy magazine.
Running From Poverty
Rios, who grew up in a rough section of San Bernardino, Calif., took up running at a young age. Her mother says her daughter's impoverished upbringing motivated her athletic success.
"It's almost as if she was saying, 'I'm going to run out of poverty. I'm getting out of the ghetto,'" says Cheryl Rios. "'I'm going to run for my life.'"
Leilani Rios had a dream of becoming the first in her family to go to college, and it came true when she was recruited to run at Cal State, Fullerton. From the start, she was one of the school's top female runners.
Between the demands of schoolwork and training, however, Rios had a difficult time making enough money to pay her tuition and living expenses.
Stripping turned out to be a lucrative solution. Working as an exotic dancer at the Flamingo Club in Anaheim, she could earn as much as $2,000 per week for herself and her husband, who says he isn't bothered by her job.
"I actually only have to work one, two nights a week and I'll make the same, maybe a little bit more than working at a Burger King or a McDonald's six, seven days a week," says Rios.
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