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The Washington Redskins could be finding themselves in some hot water after The New York Times reported that their cheerleaders were required to do a topless photo shoot while people invited by the team watched.
During a trip to Costa Rica that the cheerleaders weren't paid to attend, some cheerleaders felt like the team was “pimping them out” even though there was no sex involved. Other cheerleaders had to act as escorts at a nightclub for male sponsors of the team.
“It's just not right to send cheerleaders out with strange men when some of the girls clearly don't want to go,” one of the women told the paper. “But unfortunately, I feel like it won't change until something terrible happens, like a girl is assaulted in some way, or raped. I think teams will start paying attention to this only when it's too late.”
The Washington Redskins gave a statement to the New York Times where they tried to defend their cheerleading program, but also didn't really deny that anything happened.
“The Redskins' cheerleader program is one of the NFL's premier teams in participation, professionalism and community service,” the team said. “Each Redskin cheerleader is contractually protected to ensure a safe and constructive environment. The work our cheerleaders do in our community, visiting our troops abroad and supporting our team on the field is something the Redskins organization and our fans take great pride in.”
This isn't the first case that cheerleaders from an NFL team felt they were taken advantage of. Two former cheerleaders just filed a lawsuit against the NFL last month citing issues with long and unpaid hours and sexual harassment.
It remains to be seen what will come of these stunning allegations. But in this #MeToo era, this story has a chance to be a much bigger deal than in years past and could see major significant changes made to the status quo.
